Yellow Jacket
by deCaeloIgnis
Summary: 'You awake girly' he whispered. Asha nearly told him go to hell, but then she saw the faint gleam of moonlight on a glass bottle in his hand. He unscrewed the cap and the sweet, sweet scent of Southern Comfort wafted into the air. She quickly scooted into a sitting position, back against the cold concrete wall, and patted the thin mattress next to her. (Eventual Daryl/OC pairing)
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N: Hi all. This is my first fanfic. Hope you enjoy (and i'm _very_ interested in your thoughts on it). I'm having a freakin' blast writing it!]**

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><p>With the sun warm on her back and dancing off the eddying river in front of her, Asha could almost ignore the stench of putrefying flesh that lay thick in the air. The gurgle of the water was peaceful and she scanned its surface for the telltale signs that the pool in front of her harboured fish. She deliberately didn't look at the corpse spread eagled on the grassy bank at the edge of her line of sight. A flap of greying flesh hung from its face where she'd scraped it with her knife, and the rest of its face sagged away from the gaping hole in its forehead where she'd finally driven her knife home. The deadhead's milky eyes were glassy, staring unseeing at the clear blue sky, and it's swollen tongue protruded through its lipless maw. Asha could smell it though, the stink cloying in the back of her throat, like week old ungutted fish left stewing in the sun.<p>

She closed her mind to it, letting her thoughts drift aimlessly as her eyes tracked across the surface of the water. A blank mind was a true luxury these days, a chance to forget the fear, the hunger, the unrelenting loneliness—if just for a moment. It wasn't a luxury she often allowed herself, but she'd have fair warning of anything coming up on her. The scrub behind her was too thick for anything to get to get close without making plenty of noise. She had clear view to her right, and downstream to her left, she could see a few hundred meters to the partially obscured bridge spanning the river just beyond the bend. She could just make out a number of abandoned cars on the bridge, but so far it had been quiet— either that or she just hadn't gotten close enough to stir up any of the deadheads yet. Her pack was only a foot away if she had to make a run for it, and she did have to eat.

So she leant further out the river, bracing herself with one hand wrapped in a tree growing on the water's edge, spear gun held low and ready in the other hand, and watched for the shadows moving just under the surface of the water.

Her arm began to ache after a bit and she grimaced slightly. Her brother was a lot better at this. For a second she thought longingly about a stretch of ocean with a bit of reef or rocky headland. If she had that— and a pair of fins and snorkel to go with her spear gun— hunger would be one less thing she had to worry about. She shook her head slightly to dislodge the thought. She was in the backwoods in Georgia and the river was what she had to work with.

Nash had taught her the basics, but spearing fish in the little pools of relatively still water along the river's edge was a lot different to dealing with ocean currents. More often than not she came up empty handed. She had one small fish to show for her mornings work already, but she'd seen movement in the pool earlier and she could almost taste the larger fish that was hiding there just out of sight.

Nash had always managed to get them something. Asha's hands trembled slightly as she remembered the herd that had separated them.

They'd more or less been sticking to the river as they travelled, breaking away every now and then to scavenge through isolated farms and the occasional small town. But they always came back to the river. It had been their life blood so far and the rough plan had been follow to it downstream, maybe all the way to West Point Lake, until they found somewhere to hole up for the winter.

In the past they'd been able to avoid any large groups of deadheads by crossing the river. Sure, all of their gear got wet and it was a pain in the ass, but so far they hadn't encountered any walkers who could cope with the fast moving current.

Her gut clenched involuntarily as she remembered how they'd been caught out. They'd become lax— lulled into a false sense of security by having the water at their backs. But this time, when the herd came through, they hadn't been together. Nash had been in the woods, checking some snares they'd set up in the hope of breaking their monotonous fish diet. Asha had been near the water, and though she'd held out as long as she could, scrabbling together as much of their gear as she could manage, desperately screaming her brother's name, she'd eventually been forced to flee across the river.

The extra time she had spent on the river bank had nearly cost her dearly. Her shouts had drawn a swarm of deadheads to her, and more than usual had followed close on her heels out into the water. A fleshless hand had grasped her shoulder as she'd stumbled into the deep water, forcing her sideways into the water as she lost her footing. For a few panicked moments she had been pinned against the rock riverbed as gnashing teeth fought their way towards her face - until she'd been able to get her spear gun around and through cadaver's head, kicking desperately away to avoid the plume of infected blood and gunk that spewed forth as she yanked the spear free. That incident had nearly put her in reach of some of the other deadheads who'd followed her into the river, and for a few tense minutes she had swum frantically for the far bank, until she outdistanced them across the current, and dragged herself sobbing and shaking out of the water.

She been afraid to leave the river after that. The herd must have forced Nash away from the river, but she knew he'd come back to it.

She continued downstream, stopping every so often to carve a coded sign into a tree. She had worked out the code with Nash early on— just in case they got separated. At first she hadn't been too worried, confident they would meet up within a day or two. But as the days turned into a week, then two, and now almost a month, the fear had settled in a cold dark ball at the base of her spine and she could feel its fingers trailing through her body whenever she thought of her brother.

He wasn't dead. She felt sure she would know it in her bones if he was.

She had taken to crossing the river every few days, to make sure she was leaving a trail on both sides— and anxiously searching for any sign her brother had passed by. The chill in the water on the last crossing had reminded her that she couldn't keep this up indefinitely. The river was fine in the tail end of summer, but the plan had always been to find somewhere more secure to ride out the winter. Her mind shuddered away from the thought of leaving the river, leaving the place Nash would look for her.

A few more days.

A few more days and then she would start looking for somewhere nearby to ride out the winter. Somewhere secure where she could sleep for more than an hour at a time, maybe stockpile some food. She was tired, all the way through to her bones and her soul. The snatches of sleep she could manage without someone to trade watch with weren't enough. The meagre fish she caught were keeping her alive for now, but without being supplemented by scavenging runs into towns, she was losing strength quickly and knew it.

Just a few more days.

A shriek shattered the air. Asha jerked involuntarily, cursing as her shadow startled the fish she'd been stalking and it darted out of the pool.

In the direction of the bridge, the shriek resolved itself into a baby's scream, the sound suddenly interspersed with shouting voices and the crack of gunfire. Asha winced at the sound, and hesitated for a long moment before swinging herself back to the bank, grabbing up her pack and stuffing her paltry fish in the top of set off quickly over the gravelly bank towards the sound.

Baby meant people. People were dangerous, and she generally avoided them. But if Nash was anywhere nearby, that sound would draw him like a beacon. He knew as well as she did what people were capable of these days, but somehow he hadn't absorbed that lesson into the very core of his being the same way she had.

As she neared the bridge, she darted into the cover of the trees along the bank, scrambling up the steep embankment towards the side of the road leading onto the bridge. She peered around a tree as she approached the edge of the road, before darting forward to crouch behind a car that had half slid into the embankment.

The baby's cries were coming from a red station wagon about halfway across the bridge. Asha could just make out a dark haired woman in the front passenger seat, clutching the infant to her chest, her face streaked with tears. A blast of gunfire drew her attention to the nearby open tray back of a large truck, where a man and teenaged boy— father and son she assumed— were firing desperately at the swarm of deadheads weaving in between the cars on the bridge. Asha grit her teeth at the noise. They were ringing the god damn dinner bell. How had they lasted this long without knowing better?

She quickly scanned the trees behind her and swore under her breath when one of the dead staggered from the trees a few meters to her right. His filmy, off center eyes quickly fixed on her and lit up with bestial hunger. He lurched forwards, clawlike hands outstretched.

Asha caught a glimpse of a second not far behind him as she swung her spear gun around and stepped forward to meet him, driving the point of the spear up under his jaw and into his skull. She hissed in irritation as the spear refused to come free and the deadhead's collapsing weight dragged it to the ground. She let it go for the moment, grabbing her knife from the sheath strapped to her thigh and backing into a crouch to let the second deadhead come to her. It stumbled slightly as it tripped on the first body, and Asha lashed out with a quick kick that sent it sprawling before leaping onto it and burying her knife in its skull. A quick survey of the trees didn't show any further immediate threat, and she backed up quickly against the car, breathing hard, to check on the status on the bridge.

The baby still screamed, but Asha thought she could make out an undercurrent of the mother's rapid prayer in spanish. Her stomach dropped as she realised a deadhead was scrambling through the open boot of the station wagon. Another had its hands wrapped around the father's leg and was dragging him off the tray back, whilst his son fought to hold on to him by his shoulders. As far as Asha could see neither father nor son had a gun any more.

She swore and started shrugging her pack off, but before she had her arms free, the corpse clawing at the father suddenly rocked back, a crossbow bolt between its eyes, and slumped to the ground. Frozen, Asha looked on stunned as a man strode onto the bridge, cocked crossbow at his shoulder.

He was a rangy guy, but solidly muscled, scruffy dark hair falling over his face. He moved towards the back of the truck, near the father and son. His eyes were focused and he exhaled a sharp breath— the only sign that he was at all fazed by the dozen or so deadheads still on the bridge. In a single fluid motion, he fired a bolt into a rotting head of blond hair then yanked it out and stabbed it into the skull of second deadhead.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the father had leapt off the tray back and was rummaging around the refuse on the ground. When he stood up, he had his gun in his hand. The newcomer said something to him, but a frantic 'no entiende, no entiende' was the response.

Asha bit her lip, the hispanic family obviously didn't know the newcomer.

The bowman hissed in irritation, but quickly turned his attention back to the dead. There was a startled scream from the woman in the station wagon as the deadhead clawing at the windscreen of the station collapsed with a bolt in its brain. The man didn't bother to reload, just raised the bow like a club and bludgeoned a second corpse against the passenger side window. Behind him, the father picked off the dead with steady clean headshots. The bowman moved quickly around the station wagon and bodily dragged the deadhead out before slamming the boot door on its head with a sickening crunch.

A second newcomer strolled onto the bridge. He was big man, somewhat older than the bowman, but despite his silver hair, it was a bigness of bone and ropy muscle rather than fat. A faint sneer was playing about his lips as he meandered through the abandoned cars. His right hand was missing, but his forearm was covered in some sort of strapping, and Asha started slightly as he casually reached out with the stump and shoved a deadhead over the edge of the bridge.

He casually raised the handgun in his left hand.

'Oi! Walker.' He called out calmly to draw the bowman's attention to a cadaver lurching towards his back.

The bowman turned and then jerked out of the way as the one handed man shot the walker cleanly through the skull.

The newcomers obviously had the deadhead situation under control, so Asha took the moment to recover her spear gun. She planted a foot on what was left of the corpse's chest and jiggled it around a few times.

It was stuck fast. She slid her knife into the deadhead's jaw along the spear shaft and had to work the spear head lose before she was able to yank it out, grunting with the effort, and splattering herself with globules of flesh. She gagged involuntarily.

The two newcomers were obviously adept at dealing the dead, but she was far less inclined to show herself now they were involved. In Asha's experience, men with those skills weren't necessarily known for their altruistic tendencies. She doubted their presence on the bridge boded well for the family.

Her jaw clenched, but based on what she'd just seen she wasn't about to take on either of them for the sake of strangers. Gotta be smart about things now. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat.

She crouched back at the front of the car and peered warily around it. The father was struggling hand to hand with a deadhead, whilst the one handed man leaned idly against one of the abandoned cars, looking on with a mildly amused expression.

The bowman loosed another bolt before pulling a knife from his belt and driving it into the skull of the walker struggling with the father. Then he leant back and kicked it squarely in the chest, sending it off the bridge.

It was the last of the immediate walkers, and the bowman and father exchanged a careful look. The father was tight around the eyes, his chest heaving from exertion. The bowman, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.

The one handed man pushed himself off the abandoned car and strode over to the station wagon. He peered through the bloody smear of walker brain on the front side window, the fingers of his one hand waggling in a little wave. His back was to Asha, but the woman inside drew back, her arms tightening around her babe.

Asha realised she was grinding her teeth as he yanked open the back passenger door behind the mother and child and started rummaging through the family's belongings.

The father took an angry step forwards, shouting something in spanish, his gun half raised. In an instant, the one handed man's gun was pointed unwaveringly at the father's head. Asha's mouth opened slightly, he moved _much_ quicker than she'd expected for a guy of his size and age.

'Slow down there'. His southern drawl was coldly quiet. 'That ain't no way to say thanks.'

He kept his gun trained on the father, who dropped his gun hand to his side and uttered something placatingly sounding in spanish.

The bowman had moved away from the father and was discretely circling around the far side of the station wagon. The father looked across at him, the whites showing around his eyes, and said something else in spanish. From the lack of response, Asha assumed neither newcomer spoke any more spanish than she did.

'Let 'em go,' the younger man said, his gravelly voice quiet, crossbow hanging loosely in one hand.

Asha could feel the weight in the air as his companion looked at him for a long moment.

'Bah,' he spat. 'Least they can do is give us an enchilada or somethin.'

He turned back to pillaging the backseat of the car. There was the sound of glass breaking and material ripping.

The son started towards the car, but his father held out a hand staying him, looking desperately at the man with the bow again, who had kept up his slow circuit of the car and was nearing his companion. The bowman paused, a flicker of conflicting emotions playing across his face, then he raised his crossbow and poked his companion in the back with it. The man in the car went very still.

'Get out of the car'.

'Oh i know you ain't talking to me brother.'

Asha's eyes widened slightly. Brothers. Right.

The older man straightened slowly from the back seat and turned around, eyeing his brother along the bolt pointed at his head. There was the hint of a sneer around his mouth, but his eyes blazed.

'Get in your car and get the hell outta here,' shouted the younger man. The father and son didn't move.

'Go' he roared, gesturing at the car without taking his eyes off his brother.

The meaning of that was clear enough. The father and son piled in and the wheels spun as the red wagon reversed back off the bridge in the direction it had come from.

For a long moment the brothers stared at each other down the length of the crossbow, then the older man reached out and pushed the crossbow up out of his face.

The bowman gave a half snort and stormed away immediately, the tension written plainly in his stiff back and angry strides.

Asha flattened herself behind the car as he came in her direction, but he only paused to scoop up a pack he must have dropped earlier and wrench a couple of bolts from the bodies of walkers before striding into the woods on the other side of the road. His brother followed more slowly, the sneer now open on his face.

Asha slowly exhaled, releasing the breath she hadn't realised she was was unexpected. Her heart was pounding and her mind working overtime.

She quickly scanned the trees, relieved there were no walkers in her immediate vicinity. The hispanic family were gone, but the brothers... They were on foot and didn't have much gear. They couldn't have come from too far away, and if they'd been in the area for a while they might have seen Nash. Her breath hitched.

Those two might be rough around the edges— well, they might be rough all the way through, the older one especially— but they _had_ gone to help that family. To be fair, that looked like it could mostly be credited to the younger brother— but if the worst that had happened was that the family had lost some of their food to the older brother, Asha wasn't sure that she wouldn't call that a fair trade.

She sucked her teeth, trying to work some moisture back into her mouth. The thought of approaching them terrified her, but the behaviour she'd just seen on the bridge was the best indication she was likely to get that she wouldn't be robbed, killed or raped on sight.

Probably.

It was still a gamble.

She hesitated a long moment, knuckles white where they gripped her spear, and then swore violently, lurched to her feet and and started off in the direction the brothers had vanished. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

She paused when she reached the middle of the road. Risky, a voice murmured in the back of her mind. She ignored it and clambered quickly onto the hood of a car, slowly turning a full circle, eyes searching across the bridge and into the trees.

It was a long shot, but if Nash was nearby, watching like she had been, she wanted to give him the chance to see her.

Of course, someone else might see her too, but anyone who was watching had already had plenty of opportunity to intervene. Still, her skin crawled whilst she stood up there like a target, and when she'd turned the full 360 degrees without seeing anything other than a handful of deadheads coming down the road in either direction, she leapt down with a mix of relief and disappointment, and headed into the woods after the brothers.


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N: Thanks so much to those who reviewed, favourited and followed already. Stoked this little story is already getting some interest! This chapter is a little shorter - but i was super keen to get it out, since it's time for Asha to actually meet the Dixon brothers... Enjoy]**

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><p>Asha paused as soon as she was a few metres into the broken light under the trees. Her footsteps were crackling loudly in the leaf litter and she didn't want to startle the brothers and get shot before they realised she wasn't a walker.<p>

As soon as she was quiet, the sound of crickets filled the air. She scanned the area, but couldn't see either man. Her stomach dropped, but then she saw movement off to her left and she half sighed in relief. She started in that direction, moving from tree to tree and careful to keep as quiet as possible.

The sound of raised voices reached her before she could make out the words. The younger brother's voice snapped like whiplash, but, oddly enough, the older man sounded more upset— his voice choked with frustration and something Asha couldn't place.

As soon as she could make out their words, she stalled behind a tree to listen.

'I had to man,' the older man's voice almost broke as he spoke. 'I would'a killed him.'

Asha tensed at the words, suddenly rethinking her decision to follow these men into the woods.

There was a hint of panic in the one handed man's voice as he continued. 'Where ya goin'?'

'Back where I belong.' The younger brother sounded bone tired.

'I can't go with you. I— I tried to kill that black bitch. Damned near killed the Chinese kid.'

'He's Korean,' his brother snapped.

'Whatever.' The older man's voice was unsteady. 'Doesn't matter man, i just can't go with ya.'

There was a long pause, and when the younger brother spoke, something in Asha's chest tightened.

'Ya know, I might be the one that's walkin' away,' his voice caught slightly. 'But you're the one that's leaving. Again.'

Asha heard a set of footsteps moving off. She risked a quick peek around the tree.

In a bit of space between the trees, the one handed man paced a couple of steps in one direction, then half turned, his face anguished. He ran his one hand over his close cropped grey hair and then clenched it into a fist. 'Fuck.' he groaned quietly, and then he set off after his brother.

Asha took a couple of steadying breaths, resting back against the tree. The brothers were volatile. But they were obviously with others—at least two more, the black woman and the Chinese—Korean—kid. Maybe even the man the older man would have killed.

A group.

Asha pressed a hand to the fluttering in her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was nervousness or hope. She chewed the inside of cheek. At least it sounded like little brother would be more welcome than big brother, that had to be good right? Besides, if this group was close by, maybe Nash was already there. Her heart leapt in her chest, and before she consciously thought about what she was doing, she scooted around the tree to follow the two men.

Both brothers appeared to be deep in thought when Asha caught up to them. The younger man ran point, his crossbow held about waist high in his right hand, ready to be raised in an instant, but it didn't seem to Asha that he was making much effort to scan the woods around him. He certainly never looked back in the direction they'd come. His brother trudged after him, his shoulders slumped. Neither was making any particular effort to move quietly.

Asha trailed them at a distance, moving from tree to tree, hoping they would strike up another conversation.

They didn't. They seemed content to trudge on in silence.

A branch snapped under her foot, and she froze, hidden behind a tree. She cursed silently, hoping they hadn't noticed. She strained her ears, desperately wanting to hear the uninterrupted sound of their footsteps, but her heart started pounding when all she heard was the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

Fuck.

Before she had a chance to move or call out, the younger brother moved silently into her line of view. His crossbow was raised and pointed at her face. Her eyes followed the bolt along the shaft to the cold blue eyed stare above it. Asha swallowed, and carefully moved her left hand away from her body, palm facing upwards. In her other hand, she kept her grip on the speargun loose and pointing downwards.

'Don't shoot. I'm not a deadhead,' she said, proud her voice didn't tremble.

Neither the crossbow nor the expression on the man's face budged a hairsbreadth.

'Well well, little brother,' the one handed man cackled behind her. 'What have we got here?'

Since fast movements are never wise when faced with a loaded weapon, Asha turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder.

The older brother had circled around and was leering at her. His gun was in his hand, not pointed at her, but Asha remembered the speed with which he'd raised it on the bridge.

Stuck between them, she could only watch one of them at a time.

'Watch ya doin' out here all alone in the woods little girl,' he drawled. 'You make a habit of seeking out strange men in the woods?'

Asha bristled at the innuendo. 'No.'

'Trying to sneak up on us and rob us?'

She gave him a flat look. 'How fucking stupid do you think i am.'

'Dunno. Only just met ya.' He took a step towards her. 'But i gotta tell ya sugar tits, that would'a been a stupid move on your part. Might'a turned out well for us though,' he added with a suggestive leer.

Asha glanced back at the younger brother and saw that his eyes had hardened further, but were directed over her shoulder at his brother this time.

'I am not trying to rob you.' Asha said, turning back to the older man. She looked him pointedly up and down, noting the lack of gear he was carrying. 'Rob you of what?'

The corner of the older man's mouth quirked before quickly settling back into that suggestive leer.

'What then?' The younger man snapped behind her.

Asha drew a deep breath, oddly enough relaxing slightly. Not killed or raped on sight. Her instincts had been right— even if she wasn't out of the woods yet, so to speak.

'I'm looking for my brother. Thought you might'a seen him.'

'Nope.'

Asha's head whipped around. 'How do you know, I ain't told you anything about him yet.'

'We've seen no-one, we know no-one,' the bowman said. 'We ain't a fuckin' search and rescue mission.'

'And i'm no damn damsel in distress. I've done just fine out here for weeks on my own— I just can't find my brother.'

'Not my problem.'

The older man laughed. 'Just fine? You're looking pretty scrawny for doin' just fine, girly.' He sauntered over to her and leaned in close. 'But you need some help? Maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement, and old Merle will help you find your brother.'

Asha heard the younger brother mutter something disgustedly under his breath.

She kept her eyes locked on the older brother— Merle— she assumed. His leer seemed to be a permanent part of his face. His eyes were the same sharp blue as his brother's, just a little thinner with age, and they were fixed on her in a calculating way. The quicker she shut down that train of thought the better.

She lifted her hand rested it on Merle's chest, but instead of pushing him away, she leant in close and whispered in his ear.

'We make that arrangement old man, and you won't long survive finding my brother—and that's if I let you make it that long.'

Then she brought her knee up as hard as she could between his legs.

Asha was disappointed that he didn't fall to the ground in pain. But his knees did buckle slightly and the grunt he let out was kind of satisfying. She took a quick two steps back before he recovered, ignoring the other brother's crossbow as she skirted past him to make sure he was between her and Merle. She tried to gauge his reaction as she passed him. His lips were pressed together in a thin line, but he'd lowered the crossbow a little.

'Not too scrawny for that, hey old man.' She couldn't help but grin, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind chanting stupid, stupid, stupid.

'You fucking bitch' Merle roared, lunging towards her. Asha had her speargun in both hands as she danced back, but the bowman made no attempt to get out of the way.

'What?' He said as Merle pulled up short of bodily slamming him out the way. 'She ain't trying to hurt us, and you asked for it.' He rubbed a hand through his shaggy hair. 'We fuckin' done here now? Lets go.'

He turned crossbow back on Asha, his eyes and voice cold. 'We ain't seen your brother. We can't help you. Ya follow us and I will shoot you.'

They turned and began moving away.

'What about your group.' Asha called.

The words had barely left her mouth and the younger brother was in her face, without even seeming to cross the intervening distance. His teeth were bared, and his fingers dug painfully into her bicep where he gripped her.

'What do you know about a group,' he hissed. Asha's chest clenched and she took an involuntary step back. He followed her, staying right in her space.

She hesitated. She didn't think either brother was going to take it well that she'd overheard what was obviously a private conversation.

'I—I overheard you earlier,' she admitted.

The older brother was immediately rigid, his face closed over and jaw clenched. She didn't think it was possible for the man in front of her to be any tenser, but somehow he was, the tendons suddenly leaping in his neck.

'You're going back to them. There's at least a black woman and an asian kid.' She looked desperately between them. 'That's all I know.'

'What else did you hear,' roared the older man.

Asha flinched before she could help herself. 'Nothing! Nothing I swear. You were fighting, but I wasn't close enough to make out what you were saying until right at the end.'

There was a long moment whilst the younger man searched her face with his piercing blue eyes. Asha returned the look, ignoring the trembling in her limbs and faking as much calm as she could.

Then he released her arm, shoving her away slightly.

Merle suddenly laughed. 'You been following us since then? Hell little brother, you must be gettin' soft if you let goldilocks here sneak up on you like that.'

His brother's mouth twisted in disgust and he spat.

Asha focused on the younger brother.

'My brother, he could be there— with your group. I have to come with you.'

'No.'

Asha felt the helplessness welling up inside her. 'I have to. You're the only lead I've got.' Her voice dropped. She was suddenly so, so tired of it all. 'I'm coming with you. I will follow you anyway, so you _are_ going to have to shoot me if you want to leave me behind.'

'What make you think I won't.'

There was a beat.

'I saw what you did back on the bridge.' She said quietly. She turned to fix Merle with a stare for a moment. 'Both of you.'

Merle returned her look with a half sneer.

'If I thought either of you would shoot me just because i'm an inconvenience, I wouldn't have followed you into the woods.'

The bowman passed a weary hand over his eyes and Asha saw his shoulders slump slightly. Merle must have seen it too.

'She's dead weight man,' he said. 'Ya can't be serious?'

'Ya wanna shoot her?'

'If i have to.'

Asha glared at Merle, and he returned the look with interest.

'We don't have time for this shit,' his brother said tiredly. 'Let her come—if she can keep up. I ain't slowin' the pace for you.' He snapped the last at Asha irritably. 'Rick can sort it out when we get back.'

He scrubbed the shaggy hair out of his eyes and looked at her, his expression unreadable. 'I don't know if ya brother's there or not. He wasn't a few days ago. But either way ya might end up regretting this decision. Our group's camp ain't the safest place at the moment.'

Asha's eyes narrowed, but before she could ask, he turned and set off quickly through the woods.

Asha glanced at Merle. His expression before he started after his brother was suddenly— and frighteningly— very serious.

'Well I don't have any other options,' she grumbled under her breath.

But the bowman's words hung in the air as she followed the brothers deeper into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

Asha tried to bring up the issue of the group's safety several times as they walked. But the younger brother - Daryl - palmed her off each time, saying she'd find out soon enough if Rick let her stay. Merle was tight lipped and refused to be drawn on the subject. Daryl got tenser and tenser every time she brought it up, and eventually he snapped that he would knock her out and leave her under a tree if she didn't shut the hell up. She let it lie after that.

They went further from the river than Asha wanted. She had hoped the group was camped somewhere along it, but Daryl increasing led them on an angle away from it. She felt the pull of it in her stomach as they moved further away, and she found her breath coming in short gasps as first the sight of the glinting water, and then its rushing gurgle, faded away through the trees.

She palmed the rough bark of a tree as they walked, trying to get her breathing under control. Without paying much attention to what she was doing, she pulled the knife from her thigh sheath and started carving a coded sign in the tree for her brother. Her knife had no sooner touched the bark then Merle grabbed her wrist in his hand.

'What d'ya think you're doin'?' he asked, eyes boring into her.

Asha jerked her head back and looked at him.

'Leaving a sign for my brother. So he can find me - otherwise he won't know to look for me away from the river.'

Merle squeezed his hand slightly, forcing the bones in her wrist together, and Asha fought the urge to wince.

'We don't know you, and I sure as hell don't trust ya. Maybe ya ain't even got a brother. Maybe ya got ya own group and ya laying a trail to lead them to us.'

Asha's eyes widened. She hadn't thought how laying a trail might look to her new travelling companions. She shook her head quickly.'It's just my brother, its a code we worked out.'

She looked around her anxiously. The trees stretched out in every direction with depressing sameness. Daryl had stopped up ahead and was watching them carefully.

'If I don't leave him a sign, how is he going to find me in this?'

'Let's move' Daryl snapped. 'We got somewhere to be.'

Merle's eyes were cold. 'Ya ain't leavin' nothin' behind for anyone to follow us.'

Asha's shoulders slumped, but she nodded. 'Fair enough.' She'd have to backtrack and leave the trail once she found their camp. She hoped it wasn't too far.

Merle shoved her forwards to walk between him and Daryl. 'So I can keep an eye on ya.'

As they walked, Asha pulled the spear shaft out of her gun and looked deprecatingly at the mangled flopper, still covered in chunks of walker face. It would have to be replaced. She was pretty sure she still had some spare floppers floating around her pack.

She sighed and groped around the side of her pack where her spare spears were strapped, locating one of the ones she'd doctored for walker use. She noticed Daryl tossing curious glances at her over his shoulder. She tucked the gun awkwardly under her arm and gestured with the spear with the mangled flopper.

'Fish. Flopper keeps them coming off.' She shrugged. 'Got it stuck in a deadhead's skull earlier. Shit of a thing to get out.'

She flicked as much of the gunk of it as possible and tucked it back with the other spears on the side of her pack. Then she gestured with the doctored spear. The flopper had been reversed and moved about three quarters of the way down the shaft. 'Deadheads.' She pushed it into the gun and then gave it a tug to show how the reversed flopper kept it securely in the gun and left the spearhead unobstructed. 'Can't shoot it like this, but it doesn't get stuck in the deadheads.'

'Clever,' Daryl admitted. 'Ya brother rig that up?'

Asha couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. 'Nah, this is all me.'

'You girls finished chin waggin',' Merle said. 'I hear something.'

The three of them froze, looking around as they strained to hear. The rumble of an engine could be heard in the distance. The two men set off after it immediately, and Asha followed half a step behind.

'We're close right?' Merle asked as they ran.

'Close enough,' Daryl said.

The engine sound outdistanced them quickly. They continued on at a jog for a few minutes, then the staccato ricochet of semi automatic gun fire tore through the air. Daryl took off at a sprint.

'Fuckin' idiot,' Merle cursed before taking off after him.

Asha slowed for a second. Not the safest camp. Right. Well that was obvious, and running into a shit storm of bullets was not her idea of a good plan. She seriously considered ditching the two loonies she'd hooked up with, neither would notice if she slipped away now.

But then she remembered why she'd approached them in the first place— Nash could be there... the receiving end of that gunfire. Her heart clenched. She scrubbed a hand across her face, swore quietly to herself, and then picked up her pace to try to catch the brothers.

She'd rolled the dice when she'd approached the brothers in the woods. Now she just had to see how they fell. But she sure as hell reserved the right to leg it later on if things weren't to her liking.

As the trees thinned in front of her, she began to make out wire and concrete structures, flashing through the gaps in the trees as she ran. Off to the right, a block of grey concrete resolved itself into a blocky tower. A double row of high chain link fences topped with razor wire stretched away from the tower at right angles. Behind it, a squat compound of brick and concrete buildings was visible at the top of the fenced in yard.

A prison. Fences, walls, she couldn't help but grin at the genius of holing up in such a place. She felt a surge in her stomach at the thought that Nash might be just beyond those walls.

Breathing heavily, she dropped to a knee beside Daryl and Merle, who had paused just inside the treeline and were intently scoping the prison from behind the scant cover of some scrubby bushes.

They had approached the prison from its eastern side. The main entrance was around to the right, and a tan coloured four wheel drive had pulled up just off the road. A handful of men hung out the windows and off the back, firing into the prison with semi automatic weaponry. Asha couldn't see the people in the prison, but there were spurts of gunfire being returned from the catwalk across the prison courtyard and from behind an overturned bus in the yard.

As Asha scanned the area she saw tufts of dirt spray into the air as bullets pounded into the ground near a little bridge crossing the canal in front of the prison. From the direction of the bullets, they were being fired from someone in the treeline near the men in the car. A man suddenly half sat from where he lay he shadows next to the bridge and fired into the treeline with a rifle, before quickly dropping back flat into the shadows.

Asha nudged Daryl with an elbow and pointed at the man.

He nodded, eyes tight. 'Rick'.

He started to circle around towards the bridge and the front of the prison through the trees.

Merle and Asha followed him. The woods, which had previously been fairly quiet, were suddenly full of walkers stirred up by the engine noise and gunfire. They'd outpaced most of them when they were running towards the prison, but the dead were quickly closing the gap. Asha's stomach dropped and she quickly stomped on the surge of panic she felt as she saw the woods swelling with walkers.

She touched her fingers to her knife to check it was still secured to her thigh, and then grimaced as Merle flicked out the chamber on his gun to reload it.

'Don't' she hissed, eyes still scanning the walkers that seemed to be oozing from behind every tree and fallen log.

'You'll pull them all right to us.' She yanked one of her spare spears from her side of her pack and thrust it towards him—waiting till he jammed his gun back in his waistband so he could take it in his hand.

There was a mindless groan behind her. She whipped around flinching back from the outstretched hand clawing for her face. A drooling walker loomed up fast behind it. She ducked reflexively to one side, slipped, spear flying from her hand and falling awkwardly on her pack. Heart in her mouth, she kicked out desperately, connecting with the back of the walker's legs. Knees buckled, it sprawled face first next to her. She rolled over on to it, plowing its face into the dirt, grasping desperately for her blade and then pounding it through its skull.

A strong hand grabbed her under the arm, and she choked on a scream as she realised Merle was attached to it.

'Move girly,' he shoved her roughly in the direction of Daryl.

Daryl cleared the walkers immediately in front of them, trusting Merle and Asha to clean up any that got too close along their flank. They ran, sweat dripping, feet slipping, heart pounding. Steel slamming through softened skulls and rotten bodies thudding to the ground. From the front of the prison, they heard a huge engine revving followed by the tortured screech of tearing metal and an almighty crash. Asha caught a glimpse through the trees of a red and white van in the prison yard, its tailgate slowly descending, before her attention was pulled back to another walker.

They were closing in on the bridge and up ahead of them, still a distance away, Asha could just make out through the trees a man in a baseball cap firing towards the bridge. Daryl had outpaced them and was moving towards the man, skirting from the tree to tree to stay out of his line of sight. Merle growled in irritation and picked up his pace to catch him, but at that moment there was an intense burst of gunfire from the prison yard, and the man in the cap suddenly abandoned his one man siege of the bridge and fled back towards the road. Daryl raised his crossbow at the man weaving through the trees, but lowered it after a moment and started back to Merle and Asha, frustration written all over his face.

Asha skirted closer to the treeline, happy for a brief breather whilst she checked on the prison. A tall thin man with an eye patch over his right eye, hung out of the passenger side door of the four wheel drive. His teeth were bared and his eyes burned as he looked across the prison. Asha could almost taste his hatred. She felt her blood run cold.

The one eyed man fired off several more rounds in the air, snarling as he did so. Asha was baffled for a moment until she recalled the woods surging with deadheads behind her. Still, the gratuitous display was a waste of bullets, they'd already made so much noise already that bit more wouldn't make much difference. The one eyed man swung back into the vehicle and it thundered back down the road, narrowly missing a silvery dual cab that swerved around it and floored it over the flattened front gates straight into the prison yard.

The yard was _full_ of walkers, more than could have possibly made it through the gates in the short time they had been down. The red and white van stood abandoned in the middle of the yard, a jerry rigged ramp lowered at the back. As Asha watched, a walker staggered out of the van and down the ramp. Her jaw dropped. They—whoever they were—had driven that van into the yard full of walkers.

They were using walkers a weapons. Her stomach churned.

The sound of gun shots drew Asha's attention to the corner of the yard closest to her. A white haired man, leaning on a set of crutches near the fence, was firing steady shots from a handgun at the walkers advancing on him. He seemed to be holding his own so far, but that would only last as long as his bullets did. Then Asha noticed a blur of fast movement among the slow moving walkers. A dreadlocked black woman with a samurai sword spun through the yard in the direction of the old man, leaving a trail of heads and fallen walkers in her wake. The dual cab had barely paused after crossing over the fallen gate, and its engine revved as charged across the yard in the man's direction.

A single shot rang out, much closer to Asha. She scanned the area quickly thinking Merle must have resorted to his gun.

Just outside the fenceline a walker collapsed in front of Rick, half its skull blasted clean away by the huge pistol in his hand. Rick backhanded another deadhead with the butt of his gun, but he was quickly swarmed by two more and backed up against the fence, and handful of other dead were rapidly closing in on him. He pinned one of the deadheads to the fence beside him with his left hand and, teeth bared, tried to hold the other off in front of him with his right forearm braced against its throat.

A bolt buzzed past Asha's ear and embedded in the skull of the walker straining against Rick's forearm. Rick's eyes flashed with gratitude and relief as Daryl strode past her, fitting another bolt as he went.

Merle charged at a half crouch past his brother and put his borrowed spear through the temple of the walker Rick still had pinned to fence. He forced a grin at Rick, but there was tension around his eyes and the look Rick directed to him in return was noticeably cool.

A guttural snarl behind her reminded Asha that she wasn't alone. She turned, and jammed her spear into the head of the walker looming behind her, its face going slack as she yanked it back out.

She darted across the bridge.

The three men were working through the pocket of walkers that had collected near the fence, Rick using his pistol as a club. Asha skirted quickly to Daryl's back as he paused to reload his crossbow, taking out a walker that had gotten a little too close for comfort. He glanced at her over his shoulder and grunted in what could have been thanks.

She nodded slightly and turned her attention back to the remaining walkers, darting quickly around the side of the closest, crunching her boot against the side of its knee and jabbing her spear through its face as it lay on the ground snarling at her.

The immediate danger cleared, she glanced around at her companions, breathing hard.

Rick grunted, pushing himself to his feet above the walker whose brains he'd just smeared into a pulp into the ground. He nodded appreciatively at Daryl, but his eyes hardened as he looked at Merle— still grinning awkwardly— and, disconcertingly, at her. He didn't say anything for the moment though, and the four of them turned their attention to the prison.

The dual cab had made it through the inner gate and the white haired man was violently embraced by a young blonde woman as he got out awkwardly out of the car with his crutches. The yard still seethed with walkers but, for the moment, they were focused on the four of them, and trapped inside the fence looking out.

Asha turned away, and flinched slightly as she took in the sea of disjointed movement flooding out the woods behind them. That gunfire must have drawn every walker for miles.

'Hey,' she said, voice low and tight with urgency. Merle glanced at her, but neither Daryl or Rick seemed to have heard.

'Hey.' Louder. Louder than she wanted.

Rick turned on her, his face a cold mask of fury and eyes like flint. Her stomach clenched involuntarily.

'Can we do this inside? We're gonna have a lot of company in minute.' She looked meaningfully around at the woods.

Daryl's head snapped around eyes alert, looking at the horde of walkers creeping inexorably towards the fences.

'Shit, we're gonna be cut off from the gate. We'll have to run for it.' He glanced quickly to make sure everyone was ready before setting off, slinging his crossbow across his back and pulling his knife since he wouldn't have time to retrieve any bolts. Merle followed immediately.

Asha could still feel Rick's eyes on her, and he locked his cold eyed stare on her for an instant before gesturing with his gun for her to go before him. Asha tried not to read too much into the fact that he didn't trust her at his back, but she felt his eyes boring into her and the skin between her shoulder blades tingled as she ran.


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N: Just a short one, but the next one will be up soon.]**

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><p>Asha's lungs were on fire as she staggered behind Daryl and Merle across the grate into the prison courtyard. As the inner gate was dragged closed behind them, she fell to her knees, her breath coming in ragged painful gasps and her vision blurred. She was vaguely aware of Rick and Daryl being greeted with warm embraces and Merle standing somewhat to the side, covering his awkwardness with a sneer plastered across his face. She'd barely eaten in the last two days and today had burnt up energy stores she no longer had. The adrenalin leached out of her and was replaced by a flood of exhaustion. She shrugged out of her pack and tipped forward to rest her head against her knees, trying to draw longer breaths and clear her vision.<p>

'Who the hell is this?'

A pair of boots appeared in Asha's field of view and she looked up to see an angry Asian man in riot gear. His face was a mass of purple and red bruises, his right eye nearly swollen shut.

The Korean kid. Shit, Merle _had_ done a number on him. Naked rage shone from his face.

Asha pulled in another shuddering breath and forced herself to her feet, bracing herself on the dual cab. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to be on her knees in front of these people. But she left her speargun on the ground and kept her hand away from her knife. No need to make them see her as a threat either.

'Found her on the road.' Daryl said. Merle grunted.

'And you just brought her back,' said a pretty young woman with shoulder length brown hair. Asha would have guessed she was about her own age, maybe a little younger, but she handled the rifle in her hands with familiarity that spoke of regular use. 'Are you out of your mind? She could be one of his, sent in to spy on us.'

Daryl shook his head. 'Nah, Merle'd know if she came from Woodbury. 'Sides, found out in the other direction, near the Yellow Jacket.'

The pretty woman shook her head, not convinced.

Merle grunted. 'She ain't from Woodbury. Just look at her. She'd 'ave more meat on her if she was from Woodbury— hell, if she was from any other group with a proper camp.'

Asha was sure Merle wasn't trying to defend her. Probably just trying to deflect some of the heat for bringing her back.

'Says she's been on her own,' Merle continued. 'She looks it.'

Behind him the dreadlocked woman was nodding as she ran her eyes over Asha.

'You can't be bringing strangers back here,' Rick said. 'Maybe she's from Woodbury, maybe she ain't. But we don't know anything about this woman. How she's lasted this long. what she's done to survive.' He turned on Daryl and Merle. 'How could you be so stupid? You put everyone here at risk.'

Their voices had retreated to background noise. Asha's vision had cleared and she anxiously scanned the faces of those gathered in the compound. She was stunned to see a boy of about 12 or 13 with a baby in his arms, but her heart dropped when Nash wasn't among them.

'Is this all of you,' she cut in, hating the tremor in her voice.

'What do you mean,' Rick snapped. 'Why do you care how many of are here?' He took a threatening step towards her.

'It ain't like that' Daryl said. 'She's looking for her brother. For what, a few weeks now?' He looked to Asha and she nodded. 'Been on her own since then. She followed us. Wouldn't be put off. Woulda had to shoot her or knock her out and leave her for the walkers to get her to stay behind.'

The carefully blank look on Rick's face suggested that maybe they should have.

'Wasn't happenin',' Daryl said flatly.

Rick looked at Merle. 'Surprised you went along with it?'

Merle shrugged. 'This ain't my show. Daryl said it'd be your call when we got here. Don't make no difference to me. Y'all want her out, I'll take her back into the woods and dump her somewhere, or knock her out and leave her for the biters.'

Asha couldn't care less at this stage. If her brother wasn't here, she didn't want any part of these people. There was obviously something serious going on with this Woodbury place and she didn't intend getting caught up in a fight that wasn't hers. Better being on her own then that.

'My brother, Nash,' she cut in again. 'Is he here?.

Rick looked at her, weighing her up. 'No' he answered after a long pause. 'The only people here are from our group, been together a long time now.'

Asha felt it like a blow to the body, even though— rationally— she'd known it was a long shot. Her legs trembled and she tightened her grip on the dual cab. She would have to keep moving. She remembered the name that had been mentioned earlier. She turned to Merle.

'You were at this Woodbury place? How long ago? Was my brother there then?'

Merle shrugged. 'Don't think so, but there's eighty odd people there. It's not like I was keepin' tally.'

'You'd have noticed him,' Asha insisted. 'He's a big guy, tall— head and shoulders above me— dirty blonde hair. Longish, wearing it in a ponytail last I saw. Woulda had a speargun too, and a hunting rifle? He's got a,' she traced her fingers around her left forearm marking a band about an inch and a half wide, 'band of writing tattooed around his arm?'

Merle just shrugged again.

She knelt back down and struggled to pick up her pack.

'What are you doing?' The old man asked coming forwards on his crutches. Asha was surprised to see his left foot was missing. 'You're not in any condition to be going anywhere.' His eyes and tone were kindly.

She ignored both.

'Look, you don't want me here, and I don't think I want part of whatever turf war you've got going on with Woodbury. I came looking for my brother. He's not here. No reason for me to stay.' She straightened up. 'Everyone gets what they want this way right?''

'You're going to try Woodbury? Rick asked.

From the corner of her eye Asha could see the black woman and Merle both shaking their heads, mirroring each other without realising it. There were incredulous looks on the faces of some of the others present. Daryl just looked at her grimly.

'I don't want to,' Asha said emphatically. 'After that'— she gestured to the yard full of walkers behind her—'I don't want anything to do with the place.' She sighed. 'But if it's near here, Nash might have ended up there.' She pick up her spear gun, trying to keep her knees from shaking under the weight of her pack, and turned to Merle. 'Which way.'

He didn't answer, just half arched an eyebrow and smirked.

'No,' Rick said quietly behind her. 'That's not happening.'

She spun around incredulously. 'You don't want me here. What the fuck do you care where i go?'

'You've seen us, seen our set up, seen how many— few really— we are. Can't risk you telling that to the Governor.'

'Governor?'

'The man running Woodbury,' the old man answered for Rick.

Asha looked at Rick, astonishment fading into a sinking feeling as she realised where this was going. 'I've got no interest in helping him. All I want to do is get my brother— if he's there— and get out. Nash won't stay there when he hears this Governor's using walkers as weapons.'

'It's not that easy,' Rick said, voice quiet and cold. 'You could have been seen here, with Daryl and Merle, during the raid. If that's the case, and you go near Woodbury, it's not gonna matter what information you would or wouldn't volunteer. He won't be asking nicely.'

The pretty woman with the rifle flinched violently at Rick's words and rage burned across the Korean man's face.

'Well, that's just a risk i'll have to take,' Asha bit back.

She turned towards the gate, only to notice that Merle had moved and was standing near the tail of the dual cab, neatly blocking her exit. His arms were crossed and his usual half smirk half leer was on his face. His gun was back in his hand and _her_ spear leant casually against his leg.

Her eyes hardened as she looked at him, and then around at the others in the group. Rick and Daryl looked grim, the old man simply looked sad. They weren't going to let her leave, and she was sure that if she even looked like moving in the wrong direction, Merle would have no hesitation using his gun, and Rick would let him. Her lips curled into a snarl and she felt her stomach ball with frustration.

'Oh you fucking cunts,' she spat, tossing her spear gun back to the ground and clenching her hands into fists.

'It's gotta be this way for now,' Daryl said quietly.

'You stay with us till this thing is done,' Rick said with a note of finality.

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><p><strong>[Hope you're enjoying this people - let me know what you think!]<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**[A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews people, you seriously make my day! For those of you waiting for Asha/Daryl action, its coming - but there's a bit more tension to be had first...]**

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><p>The group was set up in cell block C, and they had locked Asha in the anteroom to the main section of the cell block with Merle. The Korean man—Glenn—had asked whether that was a good idea. But Daryl had shot back that his brother wasn't a rapist. He clearly wasn't happy his brother was locked up at all, but one look at Rick and Glenn's face had convinced him that he wasn't going to win that argument. Rick had simply said it was easier to manage one section locked up then two.<p>

Merle was currently asleep on another thin mattress on the other side of the room, sprawled on his back, noisily sucking in the walls through his nose. Asha was tempted to go across the room and kick him to make him shut up.

Asha hadn't cared that they'd locked her in with Merle. By the time she'd been marched stiff backed into the anteroom, stripped of her belongings and given a thin mattresses and blanket dragged out of one of the cells, there was no space in her for anything other than seething fury at these people for keeping her from her brother. She'd dragged the mattress to far side of the room and curled up on it facing the wall. Then she had studiously ignored everything behind her—the food she'd been given, the questions from members of the group through the bars.

She'd kept her back to it all, silent tears of fury, frustration and desperation streaming down her face in the dark.

She had listened though.

The group had grilled Merle on everything he knew about the Governor. It sounded like Merle had been some sort of henchmen for the guy. She heard all about the rescue mission Rick had led to get Glenn and Maggie back after Merle had taken them, and then the second rescue effort to recover Daryl when he'd been left behind. Her skin had crawled when she realised Daryl and Merle were describing being made to fight each other in a circle of deadheads. She heard all about Michonne's sudden arrival and Andrea. There had been several vicious comments about about what Merle had done to Glenn and Michonne, only shut down from becoming full out attacks by Daryl's growling.

It had mostly been sound that washed over her, bits of information that she stored away for future use. But it had left Merle agitated.

Asha kept her back turned to Merle, laying still on her mattress. Behind her the scrape of Merle's boots on the concrete beat out a steady rhythm as he paced about the room. He muttered to himself.

'Come on girly,' he said suddenly. 'I know ya ain't been sleeping through all that. Least ya can do is keep a man warm at night after I helped ya out. Got roof over ya head. Ain't my fault ya brother ain't here and Rick ain't exactly friendly.'

Asha grit her teeth and continued to feign sleep, hoping he'd work of his frustration and give up.

Scrape, scrape, scrape. His booted footsteps circled closer to her.

'Don't tell me you're one of those upright bitches who guard it like its the… It's a fucking self replenishing resource.' There was a hard edge to his voice under the suggestive leer.

Asha glared at the wall and wished he would shut the hell up.

His footsteps circled the room and came back to her. She could feel him looming close behind her. Then he crouched and leant forward, bracing himself against the wall and looking down at her. His face was all hard planes and shadows in the dim light, yet somehow there was enough light for his eyes to glint dangerously. The stale smell of his sweat filled her nose and she could feel his breath on her cheek when he spoke.

'Ain't polite to ignore me like that girly,' he growled. 'Ya sure as shit ain't sleepin'. So how 'bout it?'

'Fuck off Merle.'

'Oh I get it,' he drawled. 'Ya some sort a rug muncher right? Bet ya just never had a real man. I can fix that for ya alright.'

Asha flipped onto her back so she could meet him eye for eye. 'This ain't happening voluntarily,' she ground out between clenched teeth. 'So you can either do whatever it is you're going to do about it or shut the hell up and let me sleep.'

Merle's eyes widened slightly in the dark, and he hesitated.

Asha snorted scornfully. 'Yeah, that's what I thought.'

She rolled over and came up to her knees to face him, forcing him back out of her space. She was sure her face was dirty and tearstained, but she didn't care. She jabbed Merle sharply in the chest with a finger. 'You won't lay a finger on me. Because if you do, you just prove to these people that every bad thing they ever thought about you was right. You'd be outta here and on your own so fast your head would spin.'

Merle rocked back on his heels, eyes flashing and teeth bared.

'Daryl won't go with you,' Asha continued relentlessly. 'He made his call, you do what you keep threatening and he'll just cut you loose—' She broke off suddenly, brow furrowing as she thought furiously. It wouldn't be about her if it happened she realised, Merle would just be proving that he couldn't be part of the group.

Had Rick locked her in with Merle as a test? Did he want this to happen? Better to give Daryl a reason as soon as possible to cast his brother aside?

Merle hadn't moved, but the fury had faded from his face and he was watching her think with narrowed eyes. Then he chuckled, low and bitterly. 'He put you in here as bait.'

Asha started at hearing her suspicions spoken out loud. Her eyes flashed to Merle and she saw the gleam of recognition as he realised she'd been thinking the same thing.

'I wouldn't have thought it of the sheriff. Hell...he has changed. Ya got some brains on ya girly, picking up on that.' Merle laughter grew until its bitter sound reverberated in the little anteroom.

She grimaced. 'Go away Merle. I want to sleep.' She rolled away from him back to the wall.

He patted her familiarly on the shoulder and she heard him push himself to his feet and cross the room.

She didn't cry again after that, but she lay there for a long time wondering about the people in the prison group and this Woodbury place. Eventually the wash of exhaustion swept her away to sleep, where her dreams were full of the Yellow Jacket, and she could hear Nash's voice in the distance.

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><p>Asha rolled on to her back on the thin prison mattress and looked up at the grey ceiling and tiny barred window set high in the wall. Judging from the light slanting through the bars, it was early morning. No-one else seemed to be awake, at least she couldn't hear anyone else moving around the prison. She was amazed she'd managed to sleep, though the more she thought about it she probably shouldn't be. Yesterday had been physically and mentally exhausting—not that all her days weren't physically and mentally exhausting these days—but yesterday had been off the charts in that respect.<p>

The fury—at Merle, Rick, everyone—had washed out of her overnight and she simply felt drained as she stared at the dust motes floating in the sunlight streaming through the bars. Her logical side rationalised what the group had done. They didn't know her, and had no reason to trust her. She couldn't blame them for that. She knew what came of trusting when you shouldn't.

Yeah, she thought dryly, you end up locked in prison with the lord if the rednecks.

And worse, whispered a voice at the back of her mind.

She shied away from that thought.

Now that the immediate blow of loss at not finding her brother at the prison had faded somewhat, she could see why going near Woodbury was a bad idea. Her mind returned to the red and white van and its cargo of walkers, the look on the Governor's face as he'd fired into the prison and the way Maggie had flinched last night. She shivered.

Not somewhere she wanted to go.

She could even, on some level, accept what the group had done to make sure it wasn't an option for her. But none of that help dull the ache that filled her everyday when she woke to the realisation her brother was gone, or blunt the desperate need clawing at her to find him. She was torn between not wanting Nash to be anywhere near the Governor, and desperately hoping that he was there, close by, and that they'd be together soon.

Not that she could do anything about until she got out of this prison.

The sound of keys rattled at the gate, and Daryl walked in with two bowls of a soupy type mush. He looked at his brother snoring, but bypassed him and came straight for Asha when he saw she was awake. He squatted down on his heels near her bed as she pushed herself into a sitting position. His blue eyes were clear and there was no hostility in him as he looked at her.

'Eat.' he said holding the bowl out.

She took it silently, then looked back at him when, instead of moving off, he just continued to look at her expectantly.

'Ya didn't eat yesterday,' he said.

'So you're gonna sit there and watch me eat this' she asked wryly, stirring the gloop with the spoon. Looked like some sort of porridge. Her stomach whined desperately at the thought of food.

'Mhmm,' he nodded.

For a spiteful instant she was tempted to throw it against the wall. But the spark of petulance only lasted a second before draining away. She really did need to  
>eat. She had intended to eat the entire bowl in silence, but Daryl spoke before she was halfway done.<p>

'Ya get why we gotta keep ya here right? Why its too risky for ya to go near Woodbury right now?'

'Risky for me or risky for you,' she snapped. Then regretted it immediately as Daryl's face closed over. Alienating him wasn't going to help.

He pushed himself to his feet. 'Whatever. You ain't my fucking problem. I didn't ask ya to follow us in to the woods and make a pest of yourself.'

That stung.

'I wouldn't be such a fuckin' pest if you just let me go.'

'Ain't happening.'

'Fine,' she bit back. 'But don't expect me to be happy about being kept from my brother.'

'Ya don't even know if he's there. Merle reckons he ain't.'

'Well he sure as shit ain't here. I'll take a 'may be' over a definite 'no' any day of the week.' She glared at him. 'And don't tell me you wouldn't be doing the exact same thing if you'd had a lead on where Merle was when he was missing.'

'That ain't the point'

'It's exactly the point.'

She was on her feet, advancing on Daryl, eyes flashing.

'Ya oughta be fucking grateful we bought ya in. Ya got a roof over ya head, walls—'

'Yeah its called a fuckin' _prison_—'

'Bowl of food. Should a left ya out there to starve since that's obviously what ya were doing.'

'I did alright.'

'Yeah,' his voice dripped with sarcasm. 'Ya been managing just _fine._'

Asha waved her hands at him. 'Well so _sorry_ I'm not keeping my appearance up to your high standards.'

He gave a short harsh bark of laughter. 'Ya seen yourself lately? I could break you in two without tryin'.'

Asha' mouth worked, but she had nothing to say. She was well aware that she'd lost some weight, particularly over the last few weeks, but this was getting ridiculous. 'It's not like anyone's living a life of plenty these days,' she eventually said bitterly.

Daryl strode past her and picked up the bowl she'd left on the floor. 'Oughta be grateful for what ya got then right,' he snapped. He thrust the half eaten gloop back at her and she took it begrudgingly.

She took a deep breath and backed up against the wall to finish eating.

How the hell had he managed to stir up her anger again so quickly?

Daryl turned to the other side of the room, where his brother—somehow—was still snoring. He nudged him awake roughly with a toe in the ribs and thrust the second bowl towards him. Merle woke up swearing.

'Shut up,' Daryl said, his voice still carrying the tension from his argument with Asha. 'Gonna be a meeting soon, see what we do.'

Merle muttered something, taking the bowl, then added in a louder tone when he realised Asha was awake. 'Mornin' doll face! Why don't ya scoot on over here and give old Merle a back rub. I'm all stiff from sleepin' on this thin ass mattress.'

Asha was gobsmacked. She had that thought last night's conversation had sorted that. But obviously establishing that Merle wasn't going to put his hands on her without permission didn't mean he was going to rein in his tongue.

'You wanna revisit that conversation we had last night,' she said. 'Or the one you had with my knee in the woods?'

Daryl looked at her sharply at the mention of last night, but her focus was all on the other Dixon brother for the moment. Merle was grinning, and the hard edge was gone from his voice. Maybe he wasn't deliberately being an ass, maybe he just didn't have any other conversational modes?

'Ah girly, ya gone an' hurt my feelin's now.' Merle moaned in mock sincerity, tucking into his bowl of gloop.

'Fuck off Merle.'

'Well… lets at least wait until Darylina here's left the room, I don't usually like an audience for that sorta thing.' He leered at her around a mouthful of porridge. 'Unless you wanna tag team the Dixon brothers.' Daryl's back stiffened and his jaw rippled. Merle flicked his tongue in and out of his mouth, still full of porridge.

Asha almost gagged, then snorted derisively— but it quickly got away from her as the complete ludicrousness of Merle's suggestion, coupled with absolute and inescapable lunacy of her present situation caught up with her. Her snort turned into a hiccuping type of laugh that quickly rolled into gales of hysterical laughter. The rational part of her mind informed her she was simply overacting to stress, but she couldn't stop. As she collapsed on her back, she caught a glimpse of both brothers looking at her with almost identical injured expressions, which left her gasping for air, forearm across her eyes, as her whole body shook with laughter.

...


	6. Chapter 6

**[A/N: I'm not gonna lie, I struggled a bit with this one. Any feedback on what works/doesn't work would be appreciated.]**

* * *

><p>'You're slipping Rick. We've all seen it, we understand why, but now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy! Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's lives in your hands. So get your head clear, and do something.'<p>

Hershel's words, charged with tension, bounced off the concrete surfaces of the cell block as Rick pushed his way outside. Asha hadn't paid that much attention to the group's debate— once Merle's comment about the likelihood that the Governor had scouts on the roads out of the area had dashed her hopes that the group might flee, and in doing so free her to go back out looking for her brother. But Hershel's words pierced through her apathy with startling clarity.

Asha frowned. She'd been wary of Rick ever since he'd turned his hard eyes on her at the fence line. There was an edge of brittleness to him, ready to shatter if pushed too hard. Asha wasn't sure whether the fact that his own group could obviously see it too should make her feel better or worse. The man had a shadow hanging over him, and being locked in a cell, at his mercy, made the hair stand up on the back of Asha's neck.

She was suddenly seized with a desperate need to get out the locked antechamber— even if just temporarily. She crossed over to the bars.

'Hey.'

The members of the group were dispersing after their meeting and didn't pay her any heed.

'Hey,' she said, louder. This time she got almost everyone's attention.

'I want to use the ladies room, maybe get cleaned up a bit.'

There was a pregnant pause as carefully blank faces were turned in her direction. She plucked at the clothing she'd been wearing for days and that had soaked up the sweat and walker blood from yesterday. She really did stink.

'Come on people.' she pleaded. 'You've got all my weapons and there's a yard full of deadheads out there. I'm not runnin' anywhere. I just want to get clean and then i'll come back to this cell like a good little prisoner.' She plucked at her clothes again. 'This is not ok.'

Daryl and Hershel shared a glance.

'Ok,' Hershel said. 'But Maggie and Michonne, you go with her.'

Guards. Great. Michonne to stop her if she tried anything she guessed, and Maggie to make sure that that was what Michonne did. Maggie nodded. 'I'll grab your stuff' she said, as Hershel came forwards with the keys.

'Hell, if blondie gets out, I want outta here too,' Merle demanded.

'No way,' Glenn retorted.

Hershel shook his head as he unlocked the gate for Asha. 'That's gotta be Rick's call.'

Merle grumbled under his breath. Asha reached out and patted him insultingly on the cheek. 'Don't worry big guy,' she said. 'I'll be back before you have time to miss me.' She darted quickly out the door before he could react, ignoring the startled expressions on everyone's faces—and the stream of expletives that spewed from Merle's mouth.

'We had to go through it,' Maggie said, dumping her pack in front of her. 'Couldn't let you have it till we'd checked it out.' Maggie was watching her carefully, cautious still, but the hostility from yesterday seemed to have faded.

Asha nodded and grimaced, the remnants of her life were in that pack and she hated the thought of strangers rummaging through it.

'We found your gun,' Maggie added. 'We've added it to our stock pile for now, hope that's not going to be an issue.'

Asha shrugged. It was an old colt revolver she'd scavenged early on when the world went to shit. 'Haven't had ammo for it for months now,' she said.

The rest of the group drifted away to their own tasks and she was left with just Maggie and Michonne.

She opened her pack and was immediately assailed by the smell of fish.

'Oh yeah,' Maggie said wrinkling her nose. 'We found a dead fish in there too.'

'Yeah, shit, I caught that the other morning, before I ran into Merle and Daryl.' She scrubbed the heel of her hand across her forehead. 'Forgot all about it.'

'We had to chuck it,' Maggie said. 'Didn't smell too great.'

Asha nodded, pulling a face as she dug around in her pack, the fish smell dampening her hopes of finding something cleanish to put on. She eventually found a pair of faded black jeans, a singlet and some underwear at that bottom of her pack which weren't too bad. Nothing in her pack was really all that clean to start with, but it was all an improvement on what she was wearing— even with the faint fish scent.

'Here,' Carol had come back, and to Asha's surprise, tossed her a clean towel. Asha fingered the soft material gratefully, and then almost cried when she saw what else was in Carol's hands.

'Is that soap' she gasped.

Carol grinned at the look on her face and nodded. 'It gets better.' She pulled a stick of deodorant from her pocket and handed it over with the soap. 'Men's,' she said a little deprecatingly. 'But this was a men's prison i guess.'

'I don't even care' Asha said fervently, clutching them to her chest. 'Thank you.'

She began desperately hoping for some washing powder so she could clean her clothes.

Maggie and Michonne took her into the prison bathrooms, where there was already a large tub of water set up for washing. They stood outside the door to give her some privacy while she washed, no doubt figuring it was a prison bathroom so there was nowhere to go. Asha carefully put down the precious clean towel, deodorant and soap, a little unnerved at how grateful she felt for receiving those simple gifts— even just the loan of them. She didn't want to feel grateful, or indebted to these people. Pushing the thought away for the moment, she stripped off her tank, trying to ignore its crusty stiffness. Then she swore quietly as she caught sight of the filthy, gaunt eyed creature looking back at her from the dirty mirror.

Her face was drawn and grimy and there were dark shadows under her eyes. Her green eyes looked huge, and bloodshot, in their sunken sockets. Her bones stuck out everywhere. She ran a finger down her sternum, noting how clearly she could she the outline of her ribs across her chest. Her belt was two notches tighter than it used to be, and it was the only thing holding her jeans up over hip bones that jutted out sharply through papery skin that looked thin enough to tear.

She looked like shit.

She drew in a shuddering breath, stripped off the rest of her clothes and lathered up with the soap, ignoring the sting at the back of her eyes.

Scrawny enough to break in two.

She hadn't realised she'd gotten so bad. She was amazed they had sent both Maggie and Michonne to watch her. In her condition Carl could probably have overpowered her. Depressingly, as she scrubbed off the grime, she realised she was covered in cuts, scrapes and bites from living along the river. There was a particularly deep scratch across one hip bone that she remembered getting a week or so ago. It didn't look like it had healed at all. She tried to build up enough lather to wash her hair, the blonde was barely discernible through the dirt, but she only managed to dislodge the worst of the scum.

She had pulled on her cleanish clothing and was holding her arms out in front of her and looking at them dejectedly when Maggie stuck her head around the door. 'Asha,' she said, with the tone of someone repeating herself.

'Huh?'

There was a momentary hesitation and then Maggie walked into bathroom, followed closely by Michonne. 'You didn't answer me.'

'Oh... Sorry,' Asha mumbled. She kept looking at her arms. 'I used to have muscle.'

'How long were you out there on your own?' Maggie asked.

''Bout a month alone, I think. About three or four months before that it was just me and Nash.'

'Living just on fish? Maggie arched a speculative eyebrow.

Asha shrugged, letting her arms drop limply to her sides. 'Mostly. We pretty much kept to the river, but we did the occasional scavenging run into towns. Hadn't quite worked up to making any on my own after we got separated.' She shook her head wryly. 'I couldn't get past the thought that he'd show up as soon as i left the river and we'd spend the rest of our lives just missing each other. Crazy huh?'

'Where are you from, originally i mean?' Maggie asked curiously.

'Before all this? Nash was a dive instructor in Jacksonville. I've been based down in Miami the last couple of years.' Asha rubbed the bridge of her nose. Time to deflect a bit of attention. 'What about you two? Where was this farm of yours?'

There was a flash of pain across Maggie's face. 'Senoia...near enough.'

Asha only vaguely knew where that was. 'South of Atlanta right?'

Maggie nodded tightly.

Asha looked inquiringly at Michonne, but only received a flat silence in response.

'How did you end up here?' Maggie asked.

Asha bit her lip. 'Florida went down before Georgia I think. Miami definitely did. Thank god I was visiting Nash at the time. When it happened, we headed north. Didn't really have a plan, but there was still some radio back then, and everything we heard said everything to the south was just...gone. Infested. But Atlanta, the refugee camp, it was still taking people in.' She swiped both hands down her face past the corners of her mouth. 'Never made it. Never got near it before we started meeting people fleeing from it, carrying stories of napalm and fire... Heading for the coast most of them, but...' she glanced at Maggie and Michonne. 'It was overrun. We tried it. Couldn't get near Savannah, or even some of the smaller towns...And the radio had gone silent long before that.' She stared unseeingly at ground, seeing again the seething burning mass of Savannah and the pall of black smoke over it, blocking out the sun.

'So what were you doing the rest of the time?' Michonne asked.

'What?' Asha silently cursed herself.

'A month on your own, three or four months with your brother, what about before that? Been a while since the turn. Were you with a group?'

Asha arched an eyebrow. 'Because groups are so welcoming these days?'

Maggie had the good grace to look a little abashed. Michonne was unperturbed by her comment. 'They're just being smart. Gotta be. Particularly with what's going on with the Governor.'

'Did they lock you in a cell when you showed up?' Asha challenged.

'Not exactly, but I had something they needed, and they had something I needed.'

Right, the baby formula and information on Maggie and Glenn. Asha had heard about that last night too.

'They're not hurting you,' Michonne added. 'And once they know you're not a threat they'll let you go. That's more than you'd get from most people.' Asha felt a swell of recognition at the bitter note of experience in Michonne's voice. The dread locked woman paused. 'You didn't answer my question.'

_Damn._

'We were with a group right after the turn. Good people, most of them anyway. We had a camp, set up in an old… I guess it was an industrial warehousing complex. Didn't last though.'

She prayed for her voice to stay steady.

'After a bit, we decided we were better off on our own. We stuck to the river after that.' She forced a smile. 'My brother, he has this way with fish. I swear he could put his hand in the water and a fish would jump into it. He feed us pretty well until we got separated. I mean, I do ok with a speargun in the ocean, when I can get in and swim around with the fish, but trying to use a spear from a river bank? Totally different ball game.'

_Shut up Asha, just shut up. You always ramble when you're nervous. _

'Guess I wasn't doing so well on my own though,' she continued, gesturing vaguely in the direction of herself. 'Then Merle and Daryl showed up, and now apparently I've traded starving to imprisonment with Merle's crazy ass.'

_Dear god, please let them be distracted._

'Merle,' Michonne said flatly. 'How is that working out?'

Asha breathed a little easier. 'He's an asshole, but he's all talk at the moment, and he doesn't say anything I haven't heard before.'

Michonne arched an eyebrow.

'I used to be a bartender,' Asha said. 'And not in a nice bar. Reckon he's always talked a bigger game than he's played anyway. Now that Daryl's clipped his wings, i just tune him out.

Maggie and Michonne looked at her curiously. 'What do you mean?' Maggie asked.

Asha looked between them, a little surprised. 'Daryl made his call, out there on the road. He picked you guys.' She shrugged. 'And he may have stewed on it for a minute, but Merle picked Daryl. So now he's got make this work. Which means he's gotta keep his hands to himself.' She sniggered slightly. 'No matter how much I piss him off.'

Maggie and Michonne shared a look.

'You watch him,' Asha said. 'He may be awkward and uncomfortable as fuck about it, but he's got no option other than to try and make this work.'

'We better get back' Maggie said.

'Yeah,' Asha said, 'wouldn't want anyone to think I'd managed to get the drop on both of you.'

Maggie and Michonne both looked at her flatly.

'Sorry,' Asha hunched her shoulders. 'I...'

_Damn it. Think before you open your mouth idiot._

She scooped up her filthy clothes and then paused before handing the soap and deodorant back. 'Thanks,' she said awkwardly.

Maggie nodded noncommittally, and they headed back to the cell block.


	7. Chapter 7

...

They didn't lock her back in the antechamber when they returned to the main part of the cell block—more because it was useful space then anything to do with trusting her and Merle she figured. They were instead allowed the limited freedom of moving around inside the main part of cell block C. Asha took the opportunity to empty out and repack her pack, figuring she might as well make the most of being locked in to do a bit of maintenance on her gear. She sat down on a bench against the wall to replace the mangled flopper on her spear.

Only Michonne and Carol were in the immediate area. Michonne, working through some exercises on the floor and Carol looking through some of the food stacked against one of the walls. Asha, hardly daring to hope, had asked Carol whether she could spare any washing powder. The silvery haired woman had laughingly confirmed that they had plenty of that, the prison having had a well stocked laundry. Asha was itching to wash her clothes—as soon as Michonne was done with her exercises so her two guards could accompany her. Asha knew it wasn't a coincidence that the two of them just happened to have tasks to do in the space she happened to be in. Obviously she wasn't trusted to be left alone. It grated on her, but she let it lie—since if their roles were reversed, she'd be insisting the outsiders were watched as well.

Merle walked out of one of the cells, securing a ten inch blade to the cylindrical strapping around his stump with the last of a role of gaffer tape. He smirked at Asha when he saw she was looking. She grinned. 'Careful now. You old guys can be a bit unsteady on your feet, and we wouldn't want you to cut yourself now would we.'

He spread his arms wide, smirk spreading into a grin. 'Girly, if ya want to see what I can do with ten inches, all ya gotta do is ask.'

Asha snorted and turned back to her gear.

Merle leaned casually against one of the posts and turned his attention to Michonne, engaged in methodical push ups in the centre of the floor. There was an awkward silence until he said, 'Smart to stay fit. Don't forget the cardio.'

Asha listened with half an ear, and she could see Carol doing the same.

Michonne ignored Merle, but he continued anyway. 'Ya know, if we're gonna live under the same roof, we oughta clear the air.' His trademark half smirk half leer was on his face, but Asha, who was getting used to the way Merle dealt with people, could see the tightness around his eye. He rubbed the back of his neck. 'That whole huntin' ya down thing,' he drawled. 'That was just business. Carryin' out orders.'

Michonne looked at him coldly. 'Like the gestapo.'

'Yeah, exactly. I done alotta things I ain't proud of... before and after.'

Asha figured that was as close as Merle was ever going to get to offering an apology.

'Anyway,' he pushed himself away from the post he was leaning against. 'Hope we can get past it. Let bygones be bygones,' he said walking toward the door to the courtyard.

Asha raised both her eyebrows as she met Michonne's eyes, and the dread locked woman arched one of her own in reply. It may not have been the most elegant olive branch ever offered, but it was Merle after all.

Carol looked at them curiously, but just as Merle reached the cell block door, it slammed open and Carl dashed in, his eyes a little wild. 'Andrea's here' he shouted, dashing past them in to the main cell block, where Rick and Daryl were. Michonne was on her feet and through the door in an instant. Asha was quickly on her feet too.

The next moment, Rick marched into the room, followed by the other members of the group. He had rifles in hand.

'We don't know she's alone.' Rick said, passing one to Carol and one to Merle.

A flicker of surprise crossed Merle's face. Daryl nodded tersely at his brother, and received the same gesture in return.

'You all be ready.' Rick said. He paused at the base of the steps, turned, and fixed Asha with a glare. 'You, stay put.' His eyes burned. Asha glared right back at him. 'If I see you outside, I will shoot you myself.'

He continued out the door without giving her a chance to respond.

Asha opened her mouth, but thought better of it as Daryl caught her eye and, gave a tiny half shake of his head. She pushed herself back to sit on the bench, muttering disgustedly to herself and turned her attention back to her repair work, very pointedly not watching the group walk out the door.

...

It seemed like they were gone forever. She tried to focus on her work, but the second she paused, her eyes drifted back to the door.

'God damn it,' she growled. No, Rick be damned. She put her spear to the side, and put her hands down to push herself of the bench.

The cell door banged open the group flowed into the room. Daryl first, who perched on the table in the centre of the room, crossbow held nonchalantly in one hand. Merle brought up the rear, semi automatic rifle across his chest, barrel resting on his stump. In front of him came an attractive blonde woman, her face was calm, but her eyes were trying to be everywhere at once. Andrea, Asha assumed. Rick tossed a bag and handgun on the table near Daryl, and turned cold eyed glare on Andrea. Andrea surveyed the group.

'Shane?' She asked.

Rick shook his head.

'Lori?'

Rick's face closed over.

'She had a girl,' Hershel said sadly. Asha's ears pricked up. Somehow no-one had said her name before. 'She didn't make it.' Hershel finished.

Asha watched as Andrea's overtures to her former companions were met with a lukewarm reception. At least it wasn't just her. She squashed a momentary surge of sympathy.

'So I'm out in the cold whilst Merle's welcomed back into the fold?' Andrea demanded.

Merle's leer didn't budge, but his eyes narrowed.

'Along with whoever that is,' Andrea's flashing eyes fixed on Asha.

'She ain't been shacked up with a madman,' Daryl spat.

'What do you want Andrea?' Rick asked. 'What are you doing here?'

'Philip, the Governor, he's gearing up for war.' Andrea drew a long breath, she took a step towards Rick, voice pleading. 'If you don't try to work this out. I don't know what's gonna happen.'

'Sneak us into Woodbury,' Rick said.

Andrea took a step back, shaking her head.

'There are innocent people there.'

'Then we got nothing to talk about,' Rick said, walking away into the cell block. Andrea cast around the group for support.

'Next time ya talking to Philip,' Daryl said quietly. 'Ya tell him, I'm gonna take his other eye.' He pushed himself of the table and followed Rick. Andrea's shoulders slumped as the group started to break up. Michonne was quick to grab Andrea's attention and pull her towards the door back to the courtyard.

'Wait' Asha called, pushing herself of the bench. 'Andrea.'

The blond woman turned in her direction. Her eyebrows drew down for an instant before smoothing out.

'Yes?'

'I'm looking for my brother, Nash. Is he at Woodbury.' She gave Andrea a quick description. A look of sympathy crossed Andrea's face as she shook her head. 'He wasn't there this morning.' Asha's face dropped and she fought hard to swallow the bitterness at the back of her throat.

'Hey' Andrea said. 'I'll keep an eye out for him.' She hesitated. 'Daryl already asked me about him you know.' Asha's hands tightened momentarily on the spear she still held.

Andrea locked her eyes on her. 'These are good people. Don't blow your chance with them.'

Asha gave a bark of laughter. 'If they're so good, why are you cavorting with the enemy.'

Andrea stiffened. 'Because I'm the only chance that we get out of this without all out war.' She stalked away, Michonne glaring at Asha as she followed.

_Good job Asha, way to alienate people._

Merle sniggered. 'Ya been spending too much time in my company girly. My people skills seem to be rubbin' off'.'

'Shut up Merle.'

* * *

><p>Asha titled her head back against the cool of the concrete wall behind her. She had slunk away from the group and was sitting in the corner of the courtyard, tucked out of sight of the walkers. She closed her eyes, relishing the solitude. In the excitement of Andrea's visit, the group had forgotten about leaving a guard with her. Now would be the perfect time to slip away, if Andrea's information hadn't meant that she had no where in particular to go. The sour feeling of disappointment swirled in Asha's stomach and her throat constricted. She cast her mind around for a distraction.<p>

Andrea was still there. Michonne and Andrea had spent quite a while talking quietly together, and although the others had been wary at first, they had gradually warmed to the woman who had once been part of the group—once they accepted that she wasn't an immediate threat. Except for Rick that was, who had disappeared somewhere into the bowels of the prison and hadn't returned. Asha was a little unnerved by the twinge of jealousy she felt as she watched the group's walls tentatively come down, and the genuine warmth with which they treated each other.

She was also feeling increasingly guilty about the comment she'd made to Andrea. The more it played over in her head, the more she felt like a judgemental bitch. Her guilt was a tiny drop of ill feeling next to the ocean of longing for her brother, but at least she could do something about it. She sighed and pushed herself to her feet. It probably wouldn't make any difference, but she figured she owed Andrea an apology before she left.

She was checking the cells when she heard Andrea and Carol up on the perch, cooing over baby Judith.

'What happened with Shane?' Andrea asked.

Asha stepped back into the shadow of a cell. She was curious about that too—Andrea's mention of the name that morning had been the first she'd heard of it. Surprising when she'd picked up so much other information from the groups conversation. There was a long pause before Carol spoke.

'Rick killed him.'

Asha held her breath as Carol continued. 'That last day at the farm, the whole thing with Randall was a set up. A trap. Shane tried to kill him.'

'Shane loved Rick,' Andrea said, shock clear in her voice.

'Shane loved Lori,' Carol said sadly.

Asha started breathing again as the pieces of that puzzle slipped into place. Obviously Rick hadn't made peace with Lori before she'd passed. She felt a twinge of sympathy, and suddenly the edge of crazy she seen hovering at the back of Rick's eyes didn't seem quite so strange. Not that it made him any less crazy of course.

Asha took a deep breath and half stepped forward when she heard Carol speak. 'You need to do something.'

'I am' Andrea snapped.

'No' Carol said, her voice low and intent. 'You need to sleep with him. Give him the greatest night of his life. Get him to drop his guard and then when he's sleeping...' There was a beat. 'You can end this.'

There was a stunned silence from Andrea. Asha felt a bit that way herself. Not at the suggestion itself— if the Governor was as bad as she'd heard, then there was a certain logic to what Carol had said. It was quick, clean.

She heard Andrea's footsteps on the stairwell to the perch and stepped all the way back into the cell, thinking furiously. Carol had sounded perfectly calm and in control when she'd made that suggestion, and as she thought about it, Asha knew without a doubt that if she was in the position to do so, Carol would do exactly what she had suggested to Andrea. Asha wasn't sure how that made her feel about Carol, but she was damn sure it meant she had underestimated her. She shivered suddenly.

She stayed hidden in the cell until Carol came down the stairs and headed out of the cell block.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting as they gathered in the courtyard to farewell Andrea, the walkers in the yard casting long slow moving shadows in the golden light that shuffled across the concrete ground and prison walls.<p>

'Can you spare it?' Andrea asked looking at the car.

'Uh huh,' Rick said.

'Please Rick,' Andrea begged. 'If i can organise it, will you speak with him? At least try to sort something out before blowing each other to bits.'

Rick looked at the faces around the courtyard.

So did Asha. She could almost see the wary hope behind Hershel and Beth's eyes, maybe Carol's too. Rick's eyes, when she met them, were unreadable.

He glanced around the group once more, eyes skirting across the catwalk and then flinching away suddenly. He knuckled the bridge of his nose and took a couple of deep breaths. Then he grunted. 'If you come back and swear to me that he is willing to talk. I will meet him.'

Andrea smiled in relief.

'Stupid,' Merle hissed quietly in Asha's ear. She jumped. He had slunk up when she wasn't paying attention and was standing right behind her shoulder.

Rick locked eyes with Andrea. 'On neutral ground,' he said. ' I'll pick the place.'

'Thank you,' Andrea said putting her hand on his arm. 'Thank you.'

She made a circuit of the group, exchanging hugs and farewells. When she got to Asha and Merle she nodded stiffly and made to move straight past them.

'Andrea,' Asha said.

Andrea looked at her, face cold.

Asha swallowed.

'Sorry about before,' she said. 'Sometimes my mouth gets away from me.' There was an awkward pause. 'I say stuff i've got no right to.' Not the most eloquent apology ever.

Andrea looked at her, eyes narrowed.

'Hell girly, don't go sugar coating an apology,' Merle drawled. 'Might have ta revise my good opinion of ya if ya let that backbone of yours turn to mush.' He draped his arm around her shoulder, no doubt enjoying the shock that flashed in Andrea's eyes.

'Oh, don't be jealous now blondie,' he leered. 'Ya never did take me up on that offer of bumpin' uglies. Can't complain if I've found me a younger, blonder model.'

Asha rolled her eyes. 'Well the uglies would be all on your side in that equation,' she said dryly. She shoved Merle's arm off her shoulder with a finger. 'But you keep on dreamin' old man. I hear you old guys have thin blood and i guess you need something to keep you warm at night.'

Merle roared with laughter.

Andrea was looking at her with a mix of aversion and bewilderment. Then she shook her head slightly. 'Well, if you're puttin' up with Merle, I guess I can forgive you a slip of the tongue.'

Asha gave her a small grateful smile before turning around to punch Merle in the arm. He brushed her off, still chuckling. She caught Daryl's eye as she turned back. He had a look of disgust on his face, but the corner of his mouth quirked upwards before he got it under control.

Rick passed Andrea's bag, gun and knife to her through the open window of the car.

'I'll be back within two days.' Andrea said seriously. 'If not, well...'

Rick nodded.

'Take care' she said.

'You too.'

The gate was pulled open and Andrea drove out through the walker filled yard into the golden evening.

As the rumble of the engine faded into the distance, Rick spoke. 'I'm goin' on a run.' he said. 'We don't have the guns or ammo to go up against the Governor.'

'I thought we were just meeting to talk,' Beth said, the worry clear in her voice.

Rick nodded. 'We are. But best to be prepared. We don't know what's gonna happen after those talks.' He rubbed a hand across the stubble on his face. 'I know a few places in King County that are still likely to have weapons, ammo. Gonna take advantage of the time we've got to stock up.'

'When d'ya wanna leave?' Daryl asked.

'Not you.'

Daryl blinked, then his lips compressed into a thin line.

Rick nodded in Merle and Asha's direction. 'You stay here, keep an eye on your brother and the stray.'

Asha felt a muscle twitch in her cheek.

Rick put a hand on Daryl's shoulder. 'I'm glad you're back, really. But if either of them causes a problem, its on you.'

Daryl spat. 'Fine. But ya people are just gonna have to get used to him being here. He ain't leavin'.'

'You can't go by yourself.' Hershel said.

Rick nodded. 'I won't. I'll take Carl,' he paused. 'And Michonne'.

A momentary flicker of surprise crossed Michonne's face but she nodded quickly.

'Everyone back inside' Rick said, voice louder. 'Glenn, you got first watch.'

Glenn nodded and headed for the guard tower.

The rest of the group headed back into the cell block.

'You sure Michonne's a good idea?' Asha overheard Daryl murmur quietly to Rick.

'I'll find out.'

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: Next one won't be up till after Christmas guys. I'm going to be away camping and will be without electricity and phone reception. Merry Xmas!]**


	8. Chapter 8

**[A/N: For those of you leaving reviews, thank you! Hearing your thoughts makes my day. **

**Just a short one again, but the next one has some length, and aiming to get it up before the New Year.]**

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><p>Asha stared into the darkness. She was locked back in the anteroom with Merle, who was laying quietly on his side of the room. The whole cell block was quiet. The faint gleam of moonlight through the bars in the high window provided just enough light to etch the walls and furniture in hard dark lines.<p>

She couldn't sleep.

Her mind was turning over all the things she'd learnt today— Andrea, Shane, Lori, Carol … Nash. No matter how she tried to keep her mind away from it, she saw again the flash of sympathy in Andrea's eyes as she confirmed that Nash wasn't at Woodbury.

Asha didn't feel strong enough to face it, but she'd been holding it at bay all day. Laying in the dark and the quiet, there wasn't much else she could do.

The loss had hollowed out her chest. She ached with it. The worst part was it meant she had no real lead on Nash's location. She supposed that logically she wasn't really any worse off than she'd been two days ago. But she felt worse. She was back to the river. She could see it in her mind, black and slick under the night sky, it stretched out for an eternity. An impossible distance to search and lose her brother on over and over again.

She knew it did no good to dwell on things at night, the darkness leached away all perspective and left everything warped. But knowing and doing aren't always the same thing, and as she lay there empty and aching, she desperately didn't want to go back out to the river on her own again.

There was a rustle of sound from across the room, and the shadow looming towards her in the darkness resolved itself in the faint moonlight to be Merle.

Seriously? Were they going to go through this again?

He nudged her with a foot.

'Awake girly?' He whispered.

Asha nearly told him go to hell, but then she saw the faint gleam of moonlight on a glass bottle in his hand. He tucked it under his arm and then unscrewed the cap. The sweet, sweet scent of Southern Comfort wafted into the air. She quickly scooted into a sitting position, back against the cold concrete wall, and patted the thin mattress next to her.

Merle lowered himself to ground beside her. He drained off a long swig from the bottle, tipped his head back to rest against the wall behind him and exhaled contentedly. He held out the bottle and Asha took it smiling.

She took a long swallow enjoying the burn at the back of her throat.

'Oh Merle,' she murmured appreciatively. 'That is...delicious'

'Tastes like civilisation don't it?'

She chuckled softly. 'Don't know if i'd go quite that far.' But it was a welcome remnant of civilisation, that was for sure. 'Where'd ya get it,' she asked.

Merle held his hand out, Asha took another quick gulp before handing the bottle back.

'Had a little rummage through my baby brother's things this arvo. He always was partial to a bit of Southo. Been holdin' out on me the ungrateful little shit.'

'Guess you've got more of a communal sense of title, huh?'

There was a pause. 'What's that supposed to mean' he grumbled.

Asha pointed at the bottle. 'What's his is yours right?'.

'That boy'd be nothing without me, without what I did for 'im growing up. I protected him,' he spat. 'The god damn old man,' he muttered under his breath. 'None of these bastards get that.'

'But Daryl gets it?' There was only half a question in her voice.

Merle grunted. He took another long draught from the bottle, then dragged the back of his hand across his mouth. 'These people, they look at me like I'm scum. Ya think I don't know that they think I'm some sort of...' He trailed off.

'We are what we are,' Asha said quietly— Merle's eyes narrowed at her— 'but that doesn't mean ya have to be what other people think you are.'

He snorted softly. 'Ya don't know what I've done, girly.' He watched her out of the corner of his eye.

She shrugged and reached for the bottle.

'These pussies don't know, really know, what it takes to survive now. The Governor, for all his fucked up crazy shit... he sure had a firm grasp on that.'

Asha took a long swig, mulling it over. 'Sure he had that part right?'

'Didn't matter what I was sure about. He was sure enough for everyone, for a whole fuckin town.' There was a long pause while Merle stared at the ground in the darkness. 'Pass us that,' he said, hand out. He took a gulp, then started turning the bottle around in his hand. 'Had this way of makin' ya think it was your idea. But somehow ya wound up doin' exactly what he wanted.'He leant off the mattress and spat onto the ground.

'Oi,' Asha said, whacking him the chest with the back of her hand. 'I've still gotta sleep here when you go back to your bed.'

'You'll cope princess.'

He stared into the darkness for another long minute. Asha reached over him and took the bottle back, savouring the warmth that spread through her chest. She passed him the bottle.

'What would ya do, if ya found Nash with the Governor, and he wouldn't leave?'

'You and Andrea both reckon he's not there.'

'We don't know everyone, or he could show up there today.' He persisted. 'What would ya do?''

'Nash would leave.'

'Take your word for it would he? Woodbury casts quite a spell. Looks to be just what everyone's looking for, until ya scratch the surface.' Merle raised both eyebrows at her in the dark. 'Trust ya judgement that much does he girly?'

Asha flinched before she could help it, and her throat constricted, despite the alcohol induced mellow.

'Ah, so he doesn't trust ya.'

'Fuck you Merle,' she hissed. _You perceptive prick._ 'He'd wouldn't have to trust me about the Governor. He could make up his own mind—once i told him about that trick with the van, about you, Michonne, all of it.'

There was a long silence. They passed the bottle back and forth again. Asha's head had started to spin, but not in an unpleasant way.

'Yeah, my baby brother used to trust my judgment once,' Merle eventually said. 'Till Officer Friendly got a hold of him. Now he's forgotten what's important. Forgotten his blood.'

Asha shook her head. 'He's got new blood here. Besides, it's not like you've got a great track record of making good calls right?' She grinned at him in the dark to cut the sting in her words. 'Maybe it's time for you to trust him?'

Merle grunted noncommittally. 'Things coulda been different.'

Asha helped herself to the bottle again. 'Yeah, things could always have been different, but he hasn't left you much choice this time right?'

'No gratitude that boy, after everything I've done for him.'

He fixed Asha with a long look, long enough that she started to get a little uncomfortable.

'What?'

'So why wouldn't your brother trust your judgment?' he asked. 'So far you seem to have your head on straight...Fairly straight. That trick in the woods was pretty fuckin' stupid.'

Asha snorted and took another long swig. The words were out of her mouth before she'd thought them through. 'I proved in fairly spectacular fashion, that I shouldn't be the one making decisions for us.' _Damn alcohol._

Merle's eyes gleamed at her in the darkness. 'Whadya do girly?'

For an instant, she thought about telling him. Merle—with all the marks on his soul—might even understand. But as she turned the bottle over in her hands, eyes fixed unseeingly on it, an echo of how she'd felt in the days after—when Nash had abandoned her—swamped her. She didn't have the strength for it. She took a long swig of the burning liquor instead.

'I'm going back to sleep, old man.' She held out the bottle to him. 'I think this has just about found the off switch in my brain tonight,' she lied.

In the darkness, it was difficult to see Merle's face. The curiosity was there for certain, but there was something else too, something that looked strangely like compassion. He took the bottle gently out of her hand. 'Yeah, well...that ain't such a bad thing these days.'

He patted her familiarly on the knee and pushed himself to his feet. 'Sleep well girly.'

'Don't fucking snore and maybe I will.'

He grunted quietly and started back to his mattress.

'Hey Merle,' she called softly, laying back down on the mattress and pillowing her head on her arms. 'Thanks for not being an ass and sharing with me.'

Merle half turned and there was the gleam of moonlight on the bottle as he lifted it in a silent salute to her.

Asha smiled and closed her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Asha was woken the next morning by conversation at the gate. 'Let 'em out if you want Daryl,' Rick said. 'But you brought 'em back. They're your responsibility.'

Asha peeled her bleary eyes open, her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth and her head was humming with the aftermath of the southern comfort. The sunlight streaming through the high window was offensively bright.

Daryl grunted. 'Keepin' 'em locked up ain't a long term solution. I meant what I said about Merle. Gotta make this work. And Asha ain't got no reason to run off to Woodbury now. Hell, she ain't even a problem if she does. Ain't nothin' she could tell the Governor now that Andrea probably hasn't already told him.'

'Your call,' was all Rick said. 'But lock 'em back up at night. I ain't comfortable with either of them roaming round whilst our people sleep.' He looked up at the early morning light coming through the barred window. 'Reckon we'll be back by dark. But if something happens and we're not back by first light, you get our people out. Head north. We'll meet you on the road.'

Daryl nodded. 'See you tonight.'

Asha sat up as Daryl opened the gate, pressing her fingertips to her temples as she did so. Merle was snoring in the corner again. Daryl kicked him and he grunted and rolled over.

'Get up.' Daryl said. 'The two of you have been paroled. But either of you fuck up and I will lock you back in here myself.'

'Shut up, baby brother,' Merle groaned, pulling the thin blanket over his head. The corner of the empty Southern Comfort bottle poked out. 'Man's trying to sleep.'

Asha pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the protest from her stomach and head at the movement. 'What, no breakfast delivery this morning?'

'Breaky in bed ain't an everyday occurrence around her.' Daryl waved an arm towards the open gate. 'Go help ya self.'

Asha paused as she went past him. 'You really gonna let me leave the prison if I want?'

Daryl chewed his bottom lip for a moment, but nodded.

'I get all my gear back?'

''Cept the gun. We need that.'

She harrumphed slightly. 'Guess I'll go see about breaky'.

Before she could even think about leaving, she needed the bathroom, and maybe a bucket of water to dunk her thundering head in, since she figured a handful of painkillers was out of the question.

* * *

><p>She found Carol in the open area in front of the cells which was doubling as a cooking space whilst most of their outside access was restricted due to the yard full of walkers. The silvery haired woman looked up with a smile from the large pot she was stirring on a butane burner.<p>

'You're out,' she noted.

'Paroled into the caring hands of Daryl Dixon,' Asha said dryly.

Carol smiled. 'There are worse hands to be in. Hungry?'

'Yeah.'

Carol gave her a bowl of the unappetizing porridge, smiling at the look on Asha's face. 'When we got here, there was still quite a bit of food stockpiled in the kitchen, but i swear half of it's this tasteless porridge. Better than nothin' though right?'

'Well, there is that,' Asha said. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. 'What i really want is about a foot of bacon, a couple of fried eggs and pint of soda water with a splash of oj.' There was nothing better than soda water and juice to deal with a hangover.

Carol looked at her puzzled.

Asha shook her head dismissively, and took the bowl of gloop. It wasn't a dish that needed to be savoured and she shoveled it down as quickly as her stomach—harbouring a grudge from last night's Southern Comfort—would let her.

Carol watched her eat. Asha was wondering whether she was going to have to field another comment about her weight or grilling as to how she'd survived on her own, when Carol said 'Sorry to hear your brother wasn't at Woodbury.'

Asha nodded tightly.

'What are your plans now?'

Asha shrugged.

'You're doing well with Merle.'

Asha froze with the spoon in her mouth. 'What?' She said around a mouthful of porridge.

'You're handling him well. He has a way of getting under people's skin, but he doesn't seem to rattle you.' Carol smiled gently. 'Besides, when he's griping at you he's giving the rest of us, Daryl included, a break. That's gonna be worth a lot around here if he stays.'

'If?'

'Daryl's family. We'll do anything for him, but we don't want to see Merle drag him down. And Merle, well, he's not an easy person to have around.'

Asha thought about that whilst she finished her porridge. Carol, it seemed, would be happy if she stayed—even if it was just to create a buffer between the rest of the group and Merle.

Didn't say a lot about Merle's welcome through.

She looked at Carol, innocuously preparing breakfast for the group and tried to reconcile that image with the cold blooded suggestion the woman had so calmly made to Andrea yesterday. Asha casually glanced around. There was no one in the immediate vicinity. 'I overheard you speaking to Andrea,' she said quietly.

Carol's hands froze, just for an instant, before she quickly resumed stirring the pot. 'And?' She said calmly.

Asha looked her in the eye. 'Makes sense. Quickest solution for everyone—if Andrea can slip out after without getting caught.'

Carol nodded.

'Rick put you up to it?'

Carol's eye's widened and the spoon clanged sharply against the pot, though she quickly looked down and start stirring smoothly again.

'No,' she shook her head. 'And i'd rather he didn't know for the moment, least not until—if—anything comes of it. He's got enough on his plate.'

Asha nodded. 'Yes he has.' She scrapped the last of the porridge out of the bowl. 'Reckon she'll do it?'

Carol considered it for a moment, then shook her head. 'No,' she sighed. 'She still wants to save everyone, him included I think.'

'Hmm, can't object to people trying to save people I guess.'

Carol gave a tiny laugh. Asha held out the bowl awkwardly for a moment. 'Can I help you wash these up?'

Carol smiled. 'Thanks, but lets get everyone fed first. Here.' she passed Asha two bowls. 'I think Beth and Hershel are out in the courtyard.'

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><p>Mid morning, sun blazing in the sky, found Asha on the little landing outside cell block C. She sat, slumped back resting against the concrete wall, knees drawn into her chest and throbbing head cradled in her hands. Damn, but she used to have better drinking legs than this. She could only put it down to being half starved.<p>

Next to her, though the gaps in the wooden pallets leaning on the landing cage, the walker filled yard was a slow moving mass in the corner of her eye. Maggie had been right when she'd said earlier that the pallets wouldn't offer much protection from bullets. The risk of attack was one of the reasons she should just go. Wash her hands of these people and walk away.

Daryl's offer to let her leave the prison had been hanging over her head, and she'd spent the morning in a haze of awkwardness and confusion. Her gut pulled for her to grab her stuff and set off after Nash. Her head—in more ways than one thanks to the Southo—told her not to be stupid. Don't rush into anything. You don't even have a lead on where he might be, and wouldn't it be nice just to go and have a quiet lay down for a bit?

She hadn't though. Instead, she had helped Carol with chores—whatever she ultimately decided, she was eating these peoples food and doing that without making any sort of contribution didn't sit well with her. Maggie and Glenn had slunk off somewhere together. Merle had disappeared somewhere into the prison. Daryl had slipped outside at some point, even though Asha wasn't really sure how far he could go with the yard full of walkers. She'd avoided Beth and the baby and Hershel, as much as possible, difficult when everyone was more or less restricted to inside.

She'd come out to see if she could get the lay of the land, or at least figure out where the exits were. It was a bit of a bust though. The only place she could get to from the landing without stirring up the dead was the courtyard, and there was nowhere to go from there. So she sat on the landing and watched the deadheads through the gap in the pallet. Their slow movement as they milled in the yard, the shuffle of their feet, was almost hypnotic. Without really being aware of what she was doing, her eyes tracked across each walker she could see, searching for one that was the right height, right build, right face with that telltale tattoo around its left forearm.

Then she lifted her eyes to the woods out beyond the fence, tried to think if that's where she wanted to be. On her own again. Wondered how long she could keep kidding herself that she could survive long term out there without Nash.

She heard the tap of Hershel's crutches coming up the stairs before the door to the landing pushed open and he maneuvered himself awkwardly through it.

'Thought I might find you here.' His voice was calm and friendly.

Asha kept her eyes on the woods beyond the fence.

'I know Daryl told you could leave if you want. You made any plans yet?'

Well at least he wasn't beating around the bush. Asha shook her head without shifting her gaze.

'Good. Not a decision to be rushed.'

Asha heard him shuffling around until he was leaning up against the door. The words he was waiting to say started to weigh in the air.

Asha glanced across at him. 'But you've got an opinion right?'

Hershel chuckled quietly. 'Of course. I'm the resident old man of this group. Wouldn't be living up to my end of the bargain if I didn't have an opinion right?'

Asha fought the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. 'Well. Go on then,' she said waving her hand.

'Don't be rushing into anything.'

Asha arched an eyebrow. 'That's not much of an opinion.'

'Just give it a bit of time. You're in no real state to be on your own out there.'

Asha bristled before she could help it.

'You'd be foolish not to admit it,' Hershel said. 'And so far, you don't seem like a fool. Bit headstrong maybe, but not a fool.' There was a beat. 'What would the plan be anyway?'

'Find Nash.'

'Then what? Just the two of you against the world?'

Asha turned her head to look at the old man directly. 'It's safer that way.'

'Maybe you could bring him back here?' Hershel said.

Asha's heart leapt in her chest, and she paused for a moment stunned at the hope she'd just felt at having both. She turned her face away, hoping Hershel hadn't seen the flash of hope across her face, but she was pretty sure she was too late.

'You could cover a lot of ground from a fixed base, search properly.'

'What difference does it make to you if I find him or not.'

'I'm not doing it just for you,' he sighed. 'We need new people, we keep everyone out and we're going to wither away and die—if the Governor doesn't take us all down first. I won't lie to you. We're having troubles at the moment, but i'm hoping that if you hang around long enough, you'll see we're good people, that its worth taking a chance on what we could build here.'

Asha tipped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Build something. A life, instead of just surviving on the road. It was what Nash wanted. He'd talked about it often—finding somewhere safe with good people to make it happen.

Her first camp had tried that. She remembered what that felt like. The sense of community, of something worthwhile.

It hadn't lasted.

'It's just a pipe dream,' she said bitterly.

'Not if we make it happen,' Hershel said. They were silent for a minute. 'Just, tell me you'll think about it.'

Asha nodded, lips compressed sourly. 'I'll think about it.' Gonna be hard to think about anything else now wasn't it.

'Good.' He reached into his back pocket and pulled something out. 'A little reward for not being a fool.' He pushed it into her hand. It was a tube of antiseptic cream. He nodded at her arms, bare in her tank top, and covered in scratches. 'Some of those look like they could use it. Maggie mentioned you had a couple of bigger scrapes that could do with it too.' Asha turned the tube over in her hands as Hershel steadied himself on his crutches to leave.

'Hershel,' she said as he pulled the door open. 'I can see what you're doing, and I don't like being manipulated' —Hershel didn't look even a little ashamed— 'but I am going to think about what you said.' She held up the tube. 'Thank you' she said honestly.


	10. Chapter 10

**[A/N: Happy New years all! Hope it has been a good one! Hope you enjoy this one, I had quite a bit of fun writing it.]**

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><p>Later that afternoon, Asha leant against a door frame in empty cell block B, watching Merle shred one of the prison mattresses with the knife strapped to his stump. The sound of ripping fabric was loud in the quiet space and little tufts of synthetic stuffing floated into the air.<p>

'Watcha doin'?' She asked.

Merle barely glanced at her. 'Best dope. I ever had was from a prison mattress.' He continued with the job at hand.

Asha came into the room and perched on one of the benches, crossed legs swinging slightly as she watched him.

Rip. Rip. Rip. Silence.

'What do ya want?' He asked when it became apparent she wasn't going anywhere. Hungover Merle was surly Merle it appeared.

She gave a tiny shrug. 'Was getting awkward out there. Someone was always watching me.'

Merle grunted. He tossed the mattress aside and started on another. He'd pulled a pile of mattresses out off the cells and was working through them methodically.

'Reckon you'll find anything?'

'What do you care?'

'Well hasn't being let out of the cell improved your temper? Or is that just the hangover talking?'

'Fuck off.'

Asha grinned, remembering where that conversation had ended up last time. 'You wish.'

Merle ignored her for a while, working on the mattress. 'You really gonna lit outta here?'

Asha shrugged. 'Maybe. Haven't decided yet. I'm not gonna find my brother hiding here.' She paused for a long moment. 'And I don't want any part of what's going on with the Governor.'

Merle spat. 'No-one wants any part of that.' He gave the mattress in front of him a particularly vicious tear.

'You reckon there's any chance these talks will sort something out?' Asha asked. 'If Andrea can even organise them?'

Merle snorted derisively.

'Yeah.' Asha said. 'Thought so.'

'Best thing would be to sneak in and kill the bastard whilst he's sleeping.'

Maybe Merle had more in common with Carol then he realised. 'You volunteering?'

Merle destroyed another mattress, hurling the tattered remains across the room in a cloud of fluff. 'Ya know ya gonna starve out there before ya find ya brother right?'

Asha grinned. 'Oh Merle, I'm touched. Might almost believe you care.'

'Just can't believe ya'd abandon me in the vipers' nest girly, after all we've been through.' He leered at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. ''Sides, I reckon ya startin' to warm up to me. You'll be snuggling up to me of a night time and begging me for it before too long.'

Asha laughed. 'Only if you shower first. And find some toothpaste...Maybe a change of clothes.' She smirked. 'And what would I really be getting out of it? Thirty seconds of up and down? I hear you old guys don't have much stamina. Sounds like a shit deal for me.'

'Bitch.'

'Redneck.'

'Whore.'

'Still wishin' Merle.'

He tossed another gutted mattress aside.

'So. How's this gonna work then?' Asha said.

Merle looked up at her startled.

She rolled her eyes. 'Not that. You. Them. Living with people you tried to kill?'

'Ain't none of ya business.'

'Might be if i stay.'

'What about ya brother?'

'Might starve remember? Besides, this could be a good base. It's near the river. I can get out there and back in a day and half, faster if I get hold of a car. Leave him some signs.' She swung her legs back and forth. 'Roof over my head when the weather's shit. There are definitely some upsides... Maybe I will stay.'

Merle grunted.

'So. Think they'll let bygones be bygones?'

Merle just grunted again.

'You knew them before right? Back in Atlanta?'

'So that's what this is about. Ya wanna know what type of folks ya shacking up with?'

Asha gave a tiny one shouldered shrug, legs still swinging. 'Well?'

'Assholes left me handcuffed to a roof. Rick, Glenn, Andrea, a wetback and couple of niggers, dead now. Don't that tell ya everything you need to know?' He waved his stump at her. 'Had to cut off my own hand to get off that roof.'

Asha's mouth twisted at his derogatory language. 'But you're such a delight Merle, what ever could you have done to deserve that?'

'Think ya so fucking smart don't ya girly?'

'They went back for you though, right?'

'Only cause Daryl made 'em.' He shook his head. 'They've changed since then though. Andrea's stopped screechin' long enough to figure out how to survive. Heard her sister got turned before they left Atlanta. Sweet kid. And Sheriff Rick, well… Rick's bat shit crazy. Guess he ain't quite realised his moralistic crap won't fly in this world.' Merle grunted suddenly. 'Or maybe he has. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe he's realised he ain't got the strength to carry the weight of what it takes to survive in this world.' He gave a sudden harsh bark of laugh. 'Gotta admit though, the chinaman's grown a pair. Took out a walker when he was tied to a chair.' There was an edge of begrudging admiration in the big man's voice. 'Takes serious balls to pull that off.'

Asha was silent and still for a moment.

'You tied him to the chair?' It wasn't really a question.

Merle's usual half sneer half smirk spread across his face. 'What's the matter doll face, forget what a delight i am?' He crossed his stump across his chest. 'A little bit of reality crushing all your fantasies of there bein' a heart of gold buried under here somewhere?'

'And then you pushed a walker on him.' Asha's voice was even, but her skin crawled.

Merle looked up at her for a long moment. 'Yes,' he said. His face was blank, but Asha thought she could see a shadow of self loathing in the tightness around his eyes. It was the only reason she didn't get up and leave immediately.

'We are what we are remember?' He said bitterly.

'Yeah Merle.' She held his gaze. 'But we chose what we do with it...And we aren't just the things we've done in the past.' She looked down at her hands. 'We can't be.'

She started swinging her legs again and waved at Merle to continue his destruction of yet another mattress. The room was quiet except for the sound of tearing fabric whilst she mulled all of that over. After a minute she said very quietly, 'and they're still willing to at least try to give you another chance.'

Merle stilled over the mattress, just for a second, before tearing back into it.

'I didn't make 'em go back for you,' Daryl said from just outside the door.

Asha jumped, then grimaced at herself for doing so.

The younger Dixon brother stepped forward from where he had been concealed in the shadows. 'Rick and T-Dog, they'd already made the call to go back for ya before I even knew ya were gone.'

'Shit baby brother, how long you been standin' there?'

'Long enough.'

'You make a habit of listening at doors?' Asha asked sourly.

'You make a habit of drinking other people's liquor?' Daryl bit back.

'Only when they leave it laying around.'

'Bastards didn't even offer to share,' Daryl grumbled.

Merle laughed. 'Hell little brother, I was doin' ya a favour and ya know it. Drinking with people ain't your strong point.'

Asha looked between the brothers puzzled.

'He's a mean drunk' Merle clarified.

Daryl grunted. 'Not always.' He looked at Asha and gestured with his head to the door. 'Ya mind? Need a word with my brother.'

She jumped down from the bench. 'Well, you let me know if you find any weed in this little search and destroy mission of yours, old man. Maybe if I get stoned outta my brain i'll be able to sleep through your god awful snoring.'

'I'm doing all the work girly, I ain't sharin' with ya.'

'Come on Merle, don't be like that. I thought we were workin' up a nice sense of domestic bliss in that cell.'

'What? Provided I keep plying ya with drugs and booze?'

'Firm basis for any relationship right?' She gave him a cheeky grin. 'Besides, if I don't start gettin' some sleep I'm really am gonna start kickin' you in the kidneys of a night to make you shut the hell up.'

She strode out into the corridor, but paused once she was just past it and flattened herself against the wall. _Fair's fair Daryl._

'Ya seem to be getting along.' Daryl said dryly.

Merle grunted. 'She's smart mouthed bitch...but at least she ain't a judgmental one.'

Asha felt the corner of her mouth tug up before she could help it.

'Besides,' Merle continued. 'Ain't like I got a lot of options for conversation at the moment.'

Definitely one of the more backhanded compliments she'd received in her life.

'Ya trust her?' Daryl asked.

'For what?' Merle snorted. 'Not to kill me in my sleep? She ain't so far.' He paused. 'Reckon she really is just looking for her brother. I trust her to hold her own against walkers… reckon she'll pull her weight if she hangs around. But if i got between her and her brother… '

Daryl grunted.

Asha slipped away. _Ever notice how you never hear anything good about yourself when you eavesdrop?_

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><p>'Hey.' Daryl's gravelly voice was behind her. Asha was stretched out on her mattress, reading a book she'd borrowed from Beth.<p>

She glanced up. 'Hey.'

'Tired of sleeping on the floor yet?'

Asha tossed a startled look over her shoulder. If that had come from Merle she'd have thought she was being propositioned. From Daryl, she wasn't so sure. He was leaning against the door frame, bare arms crossed, eyes hooded behind the dark hair falling across his face.

'What?' She asked.

'Got plenty of spare cells, thought ya might like a bit of ya own space.'

Asha snorted. 'Thought Rick wanted us locked up at night.'

'Cell doors lock.'

Asha pushed to her feet and walked over to the door to stand near Daryl. He shifted around so he wasn't touching her. She looked down the long row of narrow cell block openings and pictured being alone in one of those small places with the door locked. She shuddered involuntarily, and Daryl flinched back as she brushed him. She shook her head. 'No.'

'What? It ain't so bad...Once you get used to it. Beats the floor.'

'Not with the door locked.'

Daryl nodded and started to move away.

'Daryl,' she said. She reached out a hand but stopped short of touching him when she remembered how he'd flinched moments ago. 'I appreciate the offer anyway.' There was a long pause while her fingers hovered above his arm. 'Why'd ya make it?'

He moved his arm out of reach and shrugged. 'Put up with Merle's snoring for years. Man could keep ya awake through a thunderstorm.' Then he paused awkwardly. ''Sides, ya gonna get one if ya stay anyway. Might as well be now. Ain't like we're short on space.'

Asha searched his face with her eyes. 'Does that mean you want me to stay?'

He folded his bottom lip into his mouth and chewed on it for a minute. 'You bein' here, it's takin' some of the pressure off Merle. Be easier for him if ya stay.'

'I must have missed the meeting where I got appointed your brother's damn keeper,' she muttered under her breath.

'What?'

Asha scrubbed her hand across her forehead. 'Never mind. So makes no difference to you whether I stay or go?'

He shrugged, but the casual gesture was at odds with the intensity in his eyes. 'Just want what's good for my brother.'

'That's not what I asked. Rick doesn't want me here, and he's running this place. If you don't either...then this is gonna be hard.'

'Rick's a good guy,' Daryl said quickly. 'He's just... dealin' with stuff right now.' He squinted at her a little. 'Hang around, you'll see.'

He was avoiding her question.

She opened her mouth to pressure him when Maggie's call cut in from the door to the courtyard.

'Rick's back.'

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><p><strong>[AN: Hoping to get the next one up mid week sometime. As always, would love to hear your thoughts!]**


	11. Chapter 11

**[A/N: This chapter is one of my favourites, so I would love some feed back on it - either what you like, or what you don't like. Cheers!]**

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><p>The late afternoon sun was slanting across the prison as the group watched Rick, Michonne and Carl pull into the courtyard. The car pulled to a stop as Daryl chained the courtyard gate closed behind it. Rick got out, looking more relaxed then Asha had seen him. He clapped Daryl on the shoulder and grinned.<p>

'You're gonna want to see this,' he said, moving to the back of the car and popping the boot.

Two heavy black duffle bags were dropped to the concrete, barrels of automatic weapons protruding from either end and bulging with the rectangular shapes of ammunition boxes. An orange backpack, hung with camping pots, hit the ground next to them. For a moment, Asha's eyes fixed on the dark bloody smear across the bright orange canvas.

When she looked up, Daryl was holding out a new crossbow, his eyes practically glowing. He sighted along the shaft to check it was straight, then hefted it in one hand to feel for the weight. Rick was smiling, so was Michonne as she pulled yet another bag of guns onto her shoulder. Glenn and Maggie were rummaging through the two duffle bags on the ground, delighted grins across both their faces.

The relief was palpable.

'Good run then?' Hershel asked, clicking forward on his crutches.

'Yeah. You could say that,' Rick said. He wrapped an arm around Carl and started towards the cell block.

He stopped when his eyes fell on Asha, leaning on the rail at the bottom of the stairs to the block. His smile faded and his eyes hardened.

Asha straightened up, crossing her arms across her chest.

'You're still here,' Rick said.

'Didn't want to leave without seeing your pretty face once more.'

_Shut up Asha, you idiot._

Rick was not amused. 'So you are leaving then?'

Asha was silent, eyes locked with Rick.

'Well?'

'Haven't decided.'

'Yeah, well I haven't decided about you either.' Rick rubbed a hand across the stubble on his jaw. 'Letting you stay means trusting you, even just a bit.' His flinty eyes had started burning. 'So I've got a few questions for you.'

Asha's eyes narrowed. She schooled her voice and face to stay calm. 'Shoot.'

'What did you do before the turn?'

_Really? _'Lawyer. Intellectual Property. Bunch of useless skills now.'

'Thought you were a bartender.'

Asha's lips flattened into a thin line. Of course Michonne and Maggie had filled him in. 'Had to pay bills whilst I was at law school.'

'Where were you headed with your brother?'

'Just following the river. Maybe down to West Point Lake. See if we could find a cabin or somethin' for the winter.'

'How did you lose him.'

'Herd. I swam across the river. As far as I can tell he was forced away from it in the other direction.' She swallowed. 'He'll come back to it though. It's the only place we have to find each other.'

'Tell me what happened to the group you were with at the start.

A muscle twitched in Asha's throat. _Shit._ 'Good people. We had a camp, a strong one. It was in an old industrial warehouse complex. Kept a lot of walkers out.' Asha wiped both hands down her face. 'It was more secure than anywhere else Nash and I had seen whilst we'd been on the road... It was back when all this started and morality still meant something. They were good people, they helped each other… Helped strangers.' Her eyes rolled around the group and settled on Hershel. 'They tried to build something.'

_We thought we were safe._

'What happened?'

Asha stared at Rick for a long moment. She thought about blaming it on a herd, but in the end she figured, what was the the point of lying about it? Her nails dug into her arms where they were crossed in front of her. 'They trusted the wrong people. They let the wrong people in, and those people opened the doors for worst type of people...The ones who think this world is made for the taking.'

It was Rick's turn to stare at Asha.

'It's dangerous to trust,' she admitted. _Please please don't press for details._ 'Nash and I didn't look for more people after that.'

Glen cut in sharply, 'but you approached Daryl and MERLE?'

Rick flashed an angry glare at Glenn for the interruption, but nodded to Asha to answer.

She forced a smile, directing her answer to Glenn. 'I saw them help a family being swarmed by deadheads on a bridge near the river.' She figured Merle could do with the positive press, so she left out the details. 'Didn't seem likely they were gonna hurt me after that...and I wasn't having much luck finding Nash on my own.'

'How many walkers have you killed?' Rick asked quietly.

Asha shrugged. 'A lot. Whatever it took to stay alive.' She thought about it for second. 'I must have killed, what, a dozen or so on the day I met these two.' She gestured with her head towards Daryl and Merle. 'That wasn't unusual.'

'How many people have you killed.'

Her throat constricted. 'Eight.'

'What about your brother?'

'Two,' she choked out. 'That I know of'.

'Why?'

Rick's question hung in the air.

Asha's whole body was shaking. She drew a deep breath trying to steady herself. 'Two, when our first group's camp was raided.' Her eyes flashed fiercely at Rick, 'and I only wish i'd gotten more. One, who tried to jump me on the river after I lost Nash.' Suddenly she couldn't breathe. The faces of the last five swam in her vision—their faces relaxed and glowing around the campfire when she'd finally caught up to them, and their faces when she had been done with them. 'Five,' she choked. 'Five, for what they did to my sister.'

She was bent over, braced on her knees, though she had no memory of moving. She lifted her head to spit venom at Rick, to ask if he was satisfied. He was a blur behind a veil of tears. She opened her mouth, but the only thing that came out was a long keening wail as her sister's pain bubbled up inside her. She choked it off as she sank to her knees on the ground.

Rick crouched down in front of her, and pulled her chin up to look him in the eye. She bared her teeth, blinking desperately to clear her tears. She tried to twist away, but he held her firmly.

'What happened to your sister Asha?'

She snarled. _Hell no._ She was not parading her sister's pain for him to see.

'Those men deserved what they got,' she hissed. 'In the same circumstances, I would do it again.'

Rick held her gaze for a long moment. 'So you will fight to protect your own,' he said quietly. His eyes were still hard, but they were the simple hardness of a man who had seen too much, rather than the half crazed burning Asha had come to associate with Rick. 'I am sorry for you, but I had to know.'

'Fuck you Rick,' she murmured quietly. She meant to spit it, and hated how broken her own voice sounded.

Rick just nodded silently and pushed himself to his feet. When he spoke, it was loud enough for everyone to hear. 'It's your call Asha. If you want to stay, I won't stop you. But if you do, then you need to really be with us. I expect you to treat this group like your family, like your brother. You do anything, _anything,_ to endanger the safety of this group and I will kill you myself.'

He started past her into the cell block.

Treat this group like her family... like Nash?

'Does that work both ways Rick,' she called after him, glad anger was burning in her voice again. 'Do you start putting my safety on par with everyone else in the group? Or do I stay a second class citizen?' She twisted around to look at him over her shoulder.

Rick fixed her with a cold eyed stare.

'What the hell are ya talking about?' Daryl snapped.

Asha could feel Merle standing a few paces behind her, frozen partway on his way towards her, but her attention was all on Rick. 'That first night, did you throw me in that cell with Merle as bait?'

Daryl's face twitched and his hands clenched, and Asha could feel the tension radiating from Merle. A ripple of surprise ran through the rest of the group.

Rick's eyes never left hers. He was quiet for a long moment, and when he spoke his voice was calm. 'If he couldn't control himself then yes, I wanted to know about it sooner rather than later.'

'You have got to be fucking kidding me,' Daryl muttered.

'And better me then one of your own right?' Asha said, still focused on Rick.

'Better an outsider than one of us. Always.' Rick responded.

Daryl scrubbed a hand through his hair and walked towards the cell block, muttering to himself. From the corner of her eye, Asha saw Merle give her a long look, before stalking after his brother.

Rick held her gaze a minute longer. 'But you earn your place, show you're really one of us, and yeah, you get the same protection as everyone else.'

Asha dropped her eyes and twisted around so her back was to Rick. She heard him move away, and the rest of the group started to follow. Carol squeezed her shoulder as she went past. Maggie paused next to her, arm wrapped around Glenn, his eyes sympathetic. 'You gonna come in?'

Asha gave her a small smile. 'In a minute or two.'

Maggie nodded and they walked on.

Asha waited until everyone's footsteps had faded away. She took a deep breath, relishing the solitude. She flipped over on her back, stretched out on the concrete, and looked up at the sky, peppered with stars and the light smears of galaxies. It was the same sky she'd seen on many camping trips before the turn, from places way out in the wilderness, places free from light pollution.

She traced her eyes across the familiar constellations, noting with half a mind their different location in the sky since she was further south than where she'd grown up. She found the north star easily. She could almost hear her father's calm, patient voice and see his flannel clad arm pointing skyward.

Asha had been about ten and they were camping. They lay on a picnic rug which Nash had spread out away from the glowing embers of their campfire. It was a still, clear night—perfect stargazing weather as her dad said. Asha lay on her back between Nash and her dad, their heads all close together, looking up into the the night sky. Asha was wearing her warmest gear and wrapped up in a sleeping bag as well, but it was still cold and Asha shivered.

'Ya alright kiddo?' Her dad asked softly, his breath frosting slightly in the air. He tipped his head to look at her with his warm brown eyes. She nodded quickly. No way she wanted to be sent back into the tent whilst Nash got to have all the fun.

'Ok,' he said quietly. 'What's that one over there, just above the tree line?' He pointed out to the left.

Asha's brow furrowed.

'Leo,' Nash leapt in. 'See, you can just make out the hook from its tail.'

Asha pouted. Nash was four years older than her and thought he was so smart. She knew Leo, with its tail like a backwards question mark. She would have remembered the name if she'd had a minute longer.

'Nice work, Nash,' her father approved. 'Alright Asha, what's that one?' He pointed a little higher in the sky.

'Dad, that's too easy,' she complained. 'That's the saucepan. Any baby knows that.'

He smiled. 'What are its other names.'

'Big Dipper, and, ah... Ursula...' She trailed off.

'Ursula!' Nash sniggered. 'Think ya mean Ursa Major silly.'

Asha stuck her tongue out at him.

'What ya gonna do about it Ash?' He poked her, eyes sparkling in the dim light. 'You're all cocooned like a caterpillar.' He poked her again. 'Totally helpless.'

'Stop it, Nash,' she squirmed. 'Dad!'

'Cut it out, Nash.'

Nash gave her a final poke and stopped.

'Alright than kiddo. Where's the north star?'

That was more like it. Asha pursed her lips and traced the outline of the saucepan, finding the side of the saucepan and then extending the line into the sky until she found it. 'There!' she said, wriggling until she had an arm free from the sleeping bag and pointing.

'Good girl Asha,' Her father's voice glowed with pride. He smiled at her and held her eyes. 'You remember these constellations kiddo, and you'll never be lost out here.' His strong calloused hand wrapped around her cold small one and squeezed gently. 'The stars will always help you find your way.' He gave her hand a final squeeze and then tucked it back into her sleeping bag.

'Righto Nash, show me Orion.'

Asha remembered drifting off to sleep that night, lulled by the quiet voices of her father and brother debating Orion's accuracy in identifying true west.

She blinked her eyes rapidly, focusing on the north star hanging in the sky above the prison. If only it was that easy. Her lips trembled.

_I am so lost dad. _

God how she missed them, both of them. Her father had been gone for nearly a decade, but the grief although dulled, was never gone, and Nash's absence simply pulled it to the surface.

Fighting the tightness in her chest, she tore her eyes away from the north star and scanned the rest of the sky. The lines of the constellations were unchanged from when she'd learnt them as a child, unchanged from when she and Nash had taught them to their sister after their father was gone.

_I've failed everyone dad, I don't know what I'm doing anymore._

She drew a shuddering breath, swollen throat aching. Her silent tears leaked down either side of her face and ran into her hair above her ears, but she kept her eyes open and fixed on the night sky.

She heard footsteps. Heavy, a man's footsteps. Merle she guessed, an instant before he appeared in her field of view, towering to a disproportionate height from her perspective laying on the ground. She blinked a couple of times to try to clear the tears from her vision as he sat down beside her, drawing his knees towards his chest and crossing his arms loosely on top of them.

'Here girly, reckon ya could do with finding that off switch in ya brain again tonight.' He held out an untidily rolled joint and lighter in his hand.

Asha gave a tiny smile. 'Ah Merle, you are a good man,' she said softly, reaching out gratefully.

He shifted uncomfortably. 'Dunno 'bout that.' Then his teeth gleamed at her in the darkness. 'Booze and drugs just happen to be my specialty. Ya know how damn hard it was to roll that thing with one hand?'

'I would have done it for you,' Asha said.

Merle grunted.

She lit the joint, pulling the sweet smelling smoke into her lungs, and then breathing smoky trails out into the night sky.

'Ya wanna talk about it?' Merle asked quietly.

'Nope.'

He nodded, and then lay back so that he was stretched out next to her on the ground. 'Pass that this way then.'

They lay in companionable silence, staring at the stars, as the smoke cast a glaze that took the edge off her pain. Eventually, Merle exhaled the last of the smoke and ground out the stub of the joint on the ground. He bent his arm and put his hand behind his head.

'Got a proposition for you, girly.'

Asha tilted her head towards him. They lay close together, and she could clearly see his rough hewn features in profile next to her. 'Really Merle? Again?'

He snorted, and then coughed a bit. 'Not that proposition woman. Ya got a damn one track mind.'

Asha grinned. 'Go on then.'

He was quiet for a minute, clenching his hand behind his head and gnawing the inside of his cheek as he kept his eyes on the sky. 'Stay,' he said finally.

She looked at him, mouth open in surprise. He rolled his head towards her and his eyes met hers. In the dim light, they were washed of all colour, but they gleamed faintly. 'Stay. Help sort this shit with the Governor, and i'll go out with ya and help looking for ya brother.'

Asha's heart started pounding. She pushed up on her elbow to look down at him. 'I know weed is technically a hallucinogenic, but I don't reckon we've smoked that much.' She swallowed hard. 'Did you really just say what I think you did?'

'Fuck woman, ya ain't gonna make me ask again.'

'Why? Why would you do that?'

Merle rubbed his hand tiredly across his face. 'I dunno how else this works,' he admitted. 'I ain't abandoning my brother, but living here, all cosy like with these people... I don't see how that's gonna work either.' He grimaced. 'They ain't bad people, hell, that might be the problem, the judgmental... Only matter of time till one of them pisses me off and I do something I shouldn't... Best thing is if i'm not here much. Enough to keep an eye on my brother, but not enough to…' He gestured vaguely with an arm.

For a minute Asha couldn't speak. Her stomach fluttered and her blood raced. She tried to sound calm. 'Makes sense I guess. Shit Merle, are you serious?'

'Ya said you were thinking about using this as a base right? I am a hell of a tracker. Taught Darylina everything he knows.'.

'You don't have to sell it to me, Merle.' She took a deep breath. 'I wouldn't be out there on my own...You've been there, you know what that means.' Her mind raced, and her heart threatened to beat its way out of her chest. Not on her own. Someone to watch her back. 'You reckon Daryl's gonna be ok with that?'

'He ain't my fucking keeper.'

_Nah, apparently that's my job._

'Hell, man likes to hunt.' Merle added. 'He'll probably come out on occasion with us.'

There was silence for a minute.

'Just survive the governor right?' Asha asked.

'Ain't abandoning my brother.'

She nodded. 'Wouldn't ask you to.' Her veins felt like they were vibrating and there was the makings of a grin on her face. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad being Merle's keeper...

'And least this way ya won't fuckin' starve.'

'Shut up Merle.'

'But I'll be making the decisions for us girly.'

'Like hell you will,' Asha said, rolling back on to her back and putting both of her hands to the sides of her mouth. 'But look at it this way big guy, between the two of us, it'll be the blind leading the fuckin' blind.'

Merle snorted.

Suddenly the night sky seemed to positively sparkle. Asha reached over and squeezed Merle's arm. 'Thank you,' she murmured.

Maybe they could keep each other.

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><p><strong>[So, thoughts?]<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**[A/N: Sorrowjunky and xxBlackfirexx, you guys are awesome! **

**Sorry its taken me a little longer than usual to update, this week just kinda got away from me. Also I realise that there have been more Asha and Merle moments than Asha and Daryl moments so far. I didn't initially plan on Merle having such a big part, but I feel like it fits with the present situation at the prison - and, to be honest, the more I wrote Merle, the more he grew on me. I hope you guys have been digging it too. **

**However, as I am a good few chapters ahead of you guys in this story, I assure you it does very much become Asha and Daryl focused.]**

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><p>The cell block was filled with the metallic click and shuffle of weaponry. Glenn had taken charge of fortifying the prison with the weaponry Rick and Michonne had gathered on the run. The contents of the black duffle bags had been upended on the table in the anteroom to cell block C, and Glenn divvied up ammunition and hardware and directed Maggie and Carl to stash them in strategic locations around the prison.<p>

Asha and Michonne were working through the weapons checking for faults, detaching magazines and checking sights. The group had been a little surprised when Asha had stepped forward to help with that job, until she'd explained that there'd been a couple of army boys at her first camp, who had scavenged every bit of weaponry they could locate and had been willing to teach anyone who was interested. She was a pretty average shot, but it wasn't like a semi automatic needed the same precision as a hunting rifle.

The tension was palpable in the single minded focus with which everyone went about their jobs. Rick, Daryl and Hershel were out, meeting with the Governor. Andrea had shown up the night before, roaring through the walker filled yard in her borrowed car as Merle and Asha lay under the night sky. Asha vaguely recalled that Rick had been less than impressed that they were stoned, but his disapproval had mostly slipped off the outside of her smoky glaze. The Governor had agreed to talk, Andrea had set up a meeting. That morning, true to his word, Rick had gone out to meet him. Carol was on watch. That left Maggie, Glenn, Michonne and Merle effectively without supervision—a volatile mix that Asha had been watching brew all morning.

Merle was leaning against a post, wrapping another layer of gaffer tape around the knife strapped to his stump, growling irritably under his breath. He'd been pacing the cell block since Rick, Daryl and Hersel had left. He'd agreed—reluctantly and only at Daryl's insistence—not to go with them, that doing so would only aggravate the Governor and kill any chance of peaceful settlement.

He was obviously regretting that decision. Asha could see his temper building. From the sidelong glances the others in the room were giving him, they'd noticed too.

Merle tore off the end of the tape with his teeth and tugged on the blade with his good hand a few times to check it was attached securely. Then he kicked the unoffending roll of tape across the room, straight into the mismatched plates and bowls stacked on one of the shelves. They clattered to the floor. He glared around the room and the rest of the group looked back at him in silence.

Asha put down the gun she'd just finished checking. This was going to get out of control, she could feel it. He wasn't going to thank her for this—she felt a little knot in her stomach at that—but better to get it out in the open rather than have him lose it or do something reckless behind their backs. 'Spit it out Merle,' she said.

He glared at her.

'Whatever it is that's got your panties in such a twist.'

His eyes went flat.

_Least his attention's on me now._

'What we need to do,' Merle said, biting off the words. 'Is take some of these guns and pay a visit to the Governor. We know where he is right now.'

'Are you suggesting we should just go in and kill him?' Glenn asked.

'Yeah, I am.' Merle's voice was grim.

'We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put,' Michonne reminded him.

'I've changed my mind sweetheart. Bein' on the sideline with my brother out there, ain't sittin' right with me.'

'They're right in the middle of it.' Glenn said after a long moment. Asha could see the conflict on his face. 'No idea we're comin'. They could taken hostage or killed. A thousand things could go wrong.'

'And they will,' Merle snapped.

'My dad can take care of himself,' Carl asserted.

'Sorry son,' Merle drawled. 'But your dad's head could be on a pike real soon.'

'Merle!' Asha snapped. Carl snatched up a couple of boxes of ammunition and walked out of the cell.

'Don't say that to him,' Maggie said quietly.

Merle wiped a hand across his face. 'Bah.'

'It's not the right move, not now.' Glen said emphatically, eyes fixed on Merle. 'Can't take the risk of putting them in the crossfire. That's my decision, it's final.' He picked up an acetylene torch and headed towards the courtyard to work on the cage.

Merle snatched up a bag and began shoving guns and ammunition into it.

_Not good._

'Merle,' Asha said. She went to grab his arm, but he shook her off. 'Don't be an idiot.'

'You're not going.' Glenn had stopped near the courtyard door.

'I don't need permission,' Merle snarled.

'I can't let you.'

'You can't stop me'

'If you're gonna live here with us, its gonna be on our terms,' Maggie cut in. 'If Michonne can do it, why can't you?'

'Cause its my brother out there, that's why.' He looked around the group, eyes stopping on Asha. 'What's the matter with y'all?'

'I get it Merle,' she said quietly. 'I do, really. You know that.' She took a step towards him. 'But be smart about this.' She took another step forward as he slung the bag of guns across his shoulder, so that she was blocking his access to the stairs. 'Going in there, unexpected, You'll do more harm than good. You know that. Just think for a minute.'

Merle snarled and put a hand on her chest and shoved her—hard—out of the way. She staggered backwards, toppling over a discarded ammunition box and slamming into the stair rail. She grunted and pressed a hand to sudden flare of pain in her ribs.

Merle marched up the stairs, where Glenn still stood barring the door.

'I'm not gonna let you put them in danger,' Glenn ground out through grit teeth.

Merle took a step forwards, pressing his face forward into Glenn's space. 'Nut up already boy. This guy cops a feel of your woman and you're gonna pussy out like this? Get outta my way.'

'No.'

Merle snorted and half looked to the side. Asha could see what he was going to do before he did it, but she was too far away to reach him. Merle took a step forward to drive a shoulder into Glenn's chest, but Glenn was expecting him, and he launched forwards wrapping his arms around Merle. They tumbled down the stairs, struggling with arms locked around each other.

As they hit the ground, Asha launched herself onto Merle's back, ignoring the sharp pang in her ribs, wrestling to lock up one of his arms. Damn but he was a big man. Maggie was beside her, wrapping a chokehold around Merle's neck, whilst Michonne struggled with the other arm. Together they dragged him off Glenn, then froze as a gunshot cracked thunderously loud in the enclosed space. Asha peeked a stunned glance over her shoulder and saw Beth, face both furious and disgusted, handgun pointed at the ceiling.

Trapped between the three of them, Merle was breathing heavily—through Maggie's choke hold—eyes flashing. But he was still.

'We need Beth to put that gun on you, or are you gonna settle down?' Asha asked, as she yanked Merle's duffle bag of guns away from him.

'Ya'll are makin' a mistake,' he hissed.

She let him go and moved around in front of him. He peered at her across his nose, head still twisted up and sideways by Maggie's grip.

'Either we are, or you are,' she said, shaking her head a little sadly. 'But it's not your mistake to make.'

He was still angry, but she could see that some of the fight had gone out of his eyes—for now. 'Let him up' she said. 'He's gonna play nice now, aren't ya Merle.'

'Fuck you Asha.'

'Fine, stay there til you calm down.'

Merle continued to glare at her, but he stopped struggling. Asha nodded and they let him go. Jaw clenched, he pushed himself up, shouldered roughly past Asha and headed deeper into the cell block.

There was silence for a moment as those remaining traded glances.

'I don't like him wandering around on his own,' Glenn said.

'I'll keep an eye on him,' sighed Asha.

'You sure you're ok doing that?' Glenn asked. 'Don't reckon you're his favourite person right now.'

'Yeah, well,' she looked around at Glenn, Maggie and Michonne. 'No offense, but I'm probably still the best bet.' She shrugged and then winced at the pain in her ribs. 'And he owes me a damn apology for my ribs.'

'Daddy should have a look at ya when he gets back,' Beth said.

Asha waved her off. 'They're fine,' she said. 'Just a bruise I reckon.'

She set off after Merle, following him into the tombs.

She heard him before she saw him, drawn by the crashes and thuds as he vented his anger on the on the unoffending surroundings. Suddenly, ahead of her, an empty crate flew through out of a doorway and shattered against the opposite wall. Merle was swearing behind it.

'I would have thought most things were bolted down in a prison,' Asha said dryly. 'But you seem to be doing all right for this little temper tantrum of yours.'

'Get the hell away from me,' Merle snarled. He stormed past her, but only took two steps before spinning on his heel and coming back to face her.

'What the hell was that? You siding with those pussies. Took you all of two seconds to sell me out. Ya just tryin' ta get in good with the locals.'

'Hey,' Asha felt her own anger rising, and wished she didn't feel a twinge of hurt that Merle thought she'd betrayed him. 'That had nothin' to do with it. They happen to be right this time—it's just not the right move.'

He paced a couple of steps still snarling. 'I thought ya'd be on my side.'

'I am on your side.' She reached out a hand but he slapped her away. 'I am on the side of keeping you—and your damn brother—alive! Damn it Merle, you know I'm right.'

His jaw rippled as he paced past her.

She changed tack. 'Daryl won't thank you for showing up. Rick either.'

'Shut up. Ya don't know anything about me and my brother.'

'I know he wants you make things work with this group. Sometime that's gonna mean toeing the party line. Don't put him in the position of having to chose between you again.'

'Even if that means lettin' him get himself killed, that ain't a price i'm willing to pay.'

'So you're gonna go out there and increase the chances of that happening—cause in all probability that's what will happen if you go all rogue commando.'

'Don't tell me you be doin' any different if it were Nash.'

Asha took a deep breath. 'You're right. I would be doing exactly what you are doing. Exactly.' She put a hand out again to try to stop him pacing. 'And I honestly hope to god that there would be someone here with a brain to stop me.'

He paused, looking at her in disbelief. 'Bullshit.'

'You've got a blind spot when it comes to your brother Merle, same as me. But you gotta recognise that. You can't always listen to your gut when family's involved— ' She broke off suddenly, fighting down the image of faces that flashed in her mind.

Something of the intensity she was feeling must have been showing, because Merle took half a step back and looked at her carefully. 'What do you know about it?' He asked.

She felt pinned under that unexpectedly perceptive gaze and squirmed uncomfortably. 'Your judgment gets clouded,' she finished lamely.

He scrubbed his hand through his hair and then tipped his head back let loose a string of expletives.

Asha had to grin. He did know an impressive amount of swear words.

'I don't like this,' he fumed when he was abusing the ceiling.

'Obviously,' Asha said still grinning. 'But you don't have to. You just gotta accept that you don't really have any choice about it.'

'Fuck off. I could take all you pussies down if i needed too.'

'Maybe,' Asha shrugged, then winced as her ribs caught. 'But not without hurting some of us seriously' —more seriously than he already had anyway— 'and that sure as hell ain't gonna help you make things work with this group.'

He glared at her, but she had him there and he knew it.

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><p><strong>[AN: Aiming to have the next one up quickly since i made you wait for this one.]**


	13. Chapter 13

**[A/N: Thanks for the reviews people! This one took a bit of wrestling, but think I've finally got it to a point where its ok. Let me know what you think.]**

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><p>'What the hell is that?' Glenn asked.<p>

Asha had a neoprene glove on her left hand and was pulling a steel mesh glove over top. She pulled the strap around the wrist to secure it in place.

'Butcher's glove. Haven't you ever seen one before?'

Glenn shook his head.

She held her hand up and wriggled her fingers. 'Butcher's use 'em to make sure they keep all their fingers when they're chopping meat.'

Glenn arched a brow at her. 'Ok...Why?'

Asha grinned. 'You'll see when we get in the yard.'

Michonne had suggested that they use some of the razor wire around the prison to fortify the yard, in case the Governor planned to repeat his trick of charging down the gate with a vehicle. The group had been quick to adopt the suggestion. Turned out none of them held out much hope that Rick would be returning with a peaceful resolution. Fortifications made sense. As Michonne had said, they didn't necessarily have to win, they just had to make the Governor's getting at them more trouble than it was worth. They had spent most of the afternoon securing long coils of razor wire to strips of wood, and the light was beginning to fade as they gathered in the courtyard preparing to lay them out in the yard.

Asha tossed her spear gun into back of the silvery dual cab, next to the long rolls razor wire, then settled herself on the tailgate. Michonne took a spot on the other side of the tailgate. 'Ready when you are Glenn,' Asha called.

'Let's give Carol and Merle another minute,' he said. 'Don't wanna have to deal with any more dead then we have to.'

Asha glanced across the yard to where Merle and Carol were in the dog run, yelling and rattling the chain link fence in order to draw the attention of the walkers still flooding the yard. They had the attention of most of them, although there were still a few stragglers scattered across the yard, and they were stabbing them through the chain link—taking advantage of the easy kills offered as the dead massed against the fence.

'Right,' Glenn said after a moment. 'Let's do this.' He climbed in behind the steering wheel, waved at Maggie who pulled open the gate and the dual cab lurched out into the yard. Glenn drove out in a wide loop in around the yard before circling back to the drive and pulling up near the flattened gate, garnering the attention of a handful of straggling walkers as they went. Three were coming up on Asha's side of the truck and four on Michonne's, and a thin scattering beyond that had turned in their direction, but fortunately most of the dead remained focused on Merle and Carol.

Asha pushed herself off the tailgate, leaving her spear gun and reaching for her knife. From the corner of her eye she saw Michonne leap from the truck, katana whirling.

The closest deadhead surged towards her, teeth gnashing through stripped back flesh, filling Asha's nose with the stench of putrefaction. She bared her own teeth and slapped her gloved hand palm down on the deadhead's face, ignoring the harmless scrabbling of its teeth against the stainless steel mesh. Then she wrenched its head back and drove her knife up through the soft flesh under its jaw and into its brain. The creature went limp as the tip of her knife crunched home and slumped to the ground as she quickly drew the blade out. She turned to the two remaining walkers, dealing with the closest in the same way. Then she curled her gloved hand into a fist and swung it backhanded across the face of the last walker, driving her knife through it's exposed temple as its head swung to the side.

Breathing a little heavily, she shook most of the gore off the butcher's glove and wiped her blade off on the grass before turning back to the truck. Michonne was waiting at the tail gate. They took hold of either end of one of the long pieces of wood to which they'd secured the razor wire and pulled it out of the tray back. They dragged it towards the edge of the road, leaving it there for the moment since there was no use blowing the tyres out of the vehicle which Daryl, Hershel and Rick returned in. Which would be any time now. She realised she was looking at the flattened gate and dragged her eyes away as she climbed back into the tray back.

They stopped and repeated the process a couple more times along the drive—taking out a few more walkers who got too close—leaving some coils on the side of the road, to be dragged across it later, and hiding others in the grass on either side. Eventually, they pulled the last coil from the truck. Asha staggered a little as she took its weight. It wasn't heavy as such, just awkward to carry with the coils of wire protruding from it. They took a couple of steps and Asha's grip slipped as a sudden pain shot through her ribs. The wood hit the ground and Michonne stumbled at the other end for a second.

'Shit, sorr,' Asha cursed, sucking her finger where she'd jagged herself a splinter. She bent to pick up the length of wood, exhaling sharply through her teeth at the pain stabbing through her ribs.

'Alright?' Michonne asked.

'Just fine,' Asha hissed, jaw clenched. She wrapped her hands around the wood and they deposited it at the edge of the road. They leapt into the back of the dual cab—well, Michonne leapt, Asha managed a half assed kind of roll with one hand wrapped around her rib cage. Michonne pounded on the cab roof, and they roared back towards the prison courtyard.

They had a good view of the flattened gate from back of the dual cab, and Asha noticed Michonne was looking at it too. The dread locked woman looked away as soon as she realised Asha had seen her.

Asha forced a smile. 'Any time now.'

Michonne nodded, then hesitated. 'Thanks for the help with Merle this morning.'

Asha arched an eyebrow. 'Thanks for yours...and not pulling your sword on his stupid ass.'

Michonne nodded.

Maggie had been watching and had the gate ready. The dual cab lurched over the grate and into the courtyard and the gate was quickly chained shut as they rumbled to a stop. Glenn climbed out of the cab. 'Nice glove,' he called to Asha. Then he jogged over to Maggie and they headed back into the guard tower to resume their watch.

Asha levered herself gingerly towards the end of the tray. Michonne hadn't moved, and there was an awkward silence as she frowned, eyes flickering between Asha and the flattened main gate. 'Atlanta' she said eventually.

Asha's brow furrowed. 'Umm, sorry? That one went by me a little too fast.'

'Where I was,' the dark skinned woman said. 'Before all this.'

Asha nodded, sensing for an instant how difficult volunteering that information had been for the reticent woman. 'Atlanta's a big place, anywhere more specific.'

Michonne's face closed over, but then she grimaced for a second and answered. 'Brookhaven. I was an art dealer.'

'No shit? That is impressive.'

Michonne gave a tiny shrug, but a fleeting expression of loss ran across her face.

'So, what were you doing before you met Andrea?' Asha asked.

Michonne's eyes flashed at her and her lips compressed into a thin line.

Asha grinned. 'Oh come on, you didn't let me off light.'

Michonne's jaw tightened and she shook her head.

'Righto then,' Asha shrugged. She got carefully out of the tray back and reached for her spear.

'You any good with that thing?' Michonne asked.

Asha bit her lip and then gave a small nod. 'Wouldn't have survived long on my own if I wasn't.' She gestured with her head towards Michonne's katana. 'Don't have to ask you. I saw you in the yard, saving Hershel, the first day I arrived.'

Michonne shrugged a little. 'Like you said, you don't survive long on your own otherwise.'

Asha slung her spear across her back, keeping her free hand pressed to her ribs.

'I was on my own before Andrea.' Michonne said, unexpectedly. 'For a long while.'

Asha waited patiently, as Michonne swallowed, hesitating. 'I was just...wandering,' she said eventually. 'I know what it's like to be out there alone.'

Asha nodded, throat suddenly tight. Michonne's eyes, beyond the defensiveness, were shadowed with pain.

'So what happens when this is all done?' Asha asked. 'You go back? You and Andrea?'

Michonne looked around, eyes unreadable as they roamed across the prison walls and the yard, the walkers starting to mill about the yard again since Carol and Merle had abandoned their efforts at distraction. She snorted and shook her head. 'Back where? Andrea will want to stay. I...' She shrugged. 'This group's alright I think.'

Asha pursed her lips. 'Hmmm. They seem to have warmed up to you.'

Michonne's mouth quirked and she nodded noncommittally.

'Any tips with that?'

'Don't show up with Merle?'

Asha glanced across the courtyard to where Merle was holding open the door at the base of the corner guard tower to let Carol out of the dog run. He said something—too far away for Asha to make out his words—but Carol rolled her eyes and smiled as she shook her head. Not that she held it against any of the others, but Asha was glad that Carol, at least, seemed to be willing to give Merle half a chance.

Asha snorted. 'Showed up with Daryl too remember?'

'Maybe stop picking fights with Rick?'

Asha grunted. That would be the smart thing to do, but it wasn't that she was deliberately trying to aggravate him. He just put her on edge and her instincts were to fight back.

They started back towards the cell block. Michonne looked at her from the corner of her eye as they walked. 'Overheard Daryl talking to Rick yesterday. Reckons you'll pull your weight if you do stay.'

Asha shrugged. She'd always pulled her own weight. The end of the world hadn't changed that.

Michonne grabbed her by the arm to stop her, her dark eyes catching the last rays of sunlight and practically glowing. 'Besides, don't tell me you want to go back out there alone?'

'No one wants to go back out there alone,' Asha said quietly. 'Especially those of us who have done it already.' She held Michonne's gaze a long moment. 'Merle's been out there on his own too remember?'

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><p>Rick, Daryl and Hershel returned to the prison not long after dark. Asha was helping Carol prepare dinner, and the older woman froze with a sharp intake of breath when Rick and Hershel came in through the cell block door. Asha, watching from the corner of her eye, noted that it wasn't until Daryl followed them in that Carol let out a quick sigh and resumed preparing the food. Merle quickly appeared by his brother's side and clapped him around the back of the neck, his relief obvious in the sudden relaxation of the tightness around his eyes.<p>

Rick called them all into the open space in front of the cells to hear his report. Maggie and Glenn were called in from watch. Rick wanted everyone to hear what he had to say. They waited in silence, the air so taut with anxiety it felt sharp to breath.

Rick seemed oblivious for the moment, leaning against the rail at the bottom of the stairs, cradling baby Judith in his arms and crooning softly to her. Asha studied him, trying hard to see what Daryl, Hershel and the others saw in him—what she suspected that even Merle thought was in Rick. That he was someone worth following, that could keep them alive, and that was worthy of their loyalty. The regard the group had for Rick was obvious—even if they were treating him a little carefully at the moment—and logic told her that it was unlikely that the whole group was mistaken about him being worthy of that regard. Even Michonne seemed to have warmed to him following their run out to King County together.

Asha hadn't had much opportunity to watch Rick with members of the group since joining them. He'd been away a lot, or hidden in the bowels of the prison. But watching him with his daughter now, she knew he wasn't fundamentally a bad guy. He seemed fairly capable, and he had kept the group alive and together this far. Yeah, they'd lost people, but the fact that the group wasn't broken and scattered across the state meant they were doing better than most other groups Asha had seen. It wasn't that she doubted that he had it in him to make the tough calls needed to survive, and from what the others had said, he didn't make those calls lightly.

She just couldn't bring herself to trust it. There was something in his eyes, something that burned, that kept her guard up. Maybe it was just that she didn't know him as well as the others, and that, admittedly, Rick wasn't at his best at the moment. Maybe it would come with time. What scared Asha, deep to her core, was the thought that what she saw in Rick was a reflection of what was writhing in her own soul. She wouldn't trust herself to lead these people, so she was finding it hard to trust Rick.

Rick raised his face from Judith, and looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone present. The air near hummed with anticipation. 'So, I met this Governor.' Rick said calmly. 'Sat with him for quite a while.'

'Just the two of ya?' Merle cut in.

Rick nodded.

'Shoulda gone while we had the chance bro,' Merle said to Glenn, brushing past him to stand near the back of the group with Asha.

Rick looked around the group again. His voice was quiet, but no less intent for that. 'He wants the prison. Wants us gone... Dead...' He looked down at baby Judith cradled in he arms, and then back up again. 'He wants us dead. For what we did to Woodbury.' There was beat. 'We're going to war.'

There was a long silence whilst that sunk in. Asha looked around the room. Mouths were tight, hands white where they clenched furniture or each other, but their faces were all determined—even Beth and Carl's. There was a gleam in Michonne's eye and Daryl's face was resolute. Asha couldn't help but be impressed by the lack of panic in the room. It wasn't till her eyes fell on Merle, standing next to her, his mouth pressed into a grim line and his eyes shadowed, that her own stomach did a nervous flip.

She turned back and her eyes met Rick's, dark and burning.

'Time to make a call Asha. If you stay then you're with us. If not, then you leave right now.'

Asha pulled her arms across her body, rubbing her upper arms with her palms. She still hadn't made a decision, she'd been avoiding it, truth be told. She looked around the group again. Carol and Maggie gave her small smiles and Hershel nodded. Merle was behind her, but she didn't need to see him to know he wanted her around. Daryl chewed his bottom lip, but his eyes held hers for a moment and she thought he wanted her to stay too—though for herself or just his brother, she still wasn't sure. Rick's face was unreadable, but she supposed that was an improvement on open hostility.

As she looked around, she realised that all of the people here were—more or less—what they appeared to be. There was no hidden agenda. Rick's mental state and Merle's attitude aside, they were all pretty much functional and looking out for each other—living in each other's pockets as they were, she felt fairly sure of that. Her breath caught as she realised just how rare that had become.

And it was close to the river, and Merle would come looking for Nash with her...

She drew in a deep breath, taking in the row of expectant faces waiting for her answer.

'Stop lookin' so nervous,' Merle growled behind her. He draped a heavy arm across her shoulders. 'She's stayin'.'

Asha arched her brow as she looked at him. His eyes narrowed for a second, daring her to contradict him, but also—she thought—shadowed for a second with the fear that she might. The corner of her mouth pulled up in a smile. 'Yeah,' she said turning back to the group. 'I'm in.'

She was met with smiles and nods from the group, and Merle's arm tightened around her for an instant before he let her go. Even Rick smiled tightly, though it didn't reach his eyes.

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><p>Later that evening, Asha stood in one of the cells—her cell. With assurances that the door didn't need to be locked, she'd moved her scant belongings out of the space she'd been sharing with Merle and into a vacant cell. She picked one on the upper level, with a couple of empty spaces between her and Michonne, who had the next one.<p>

She craned her neck to look over her shoulder into the tiny dirty mirror bolted to the wall, carefully easing up her singlet up over her ribs and tucking it into her bra. A mottled blue and purple bruise covered the back of her rib cage and spread under her left arm around to the front. She winced as she explored the tender area with tentative fingers.

Daryl's voice sounded from the doorway. 'Glenn told me 'bout Merle earlier, and what ya did— ' He cut off abruptly as he registered what she was doing. There was a flash of embarrassment across his face, but it was quickly replaced with anger. 'What the hell?' He clamped a hand on her shoulder and turned her so he could see her better in the faint light from the hurricane lamp. 'Merle,' he hissed through his teeth, and started straight for the door.

Asha grabbed his arm, freezing him in his tracks. 'Don't,' she said quietly. 'He didn't mean it—and it's not helping him with the group if you make an issue about it.'

Daryl's jaw rippled, but after a moment he nodded. 'Hershel still oughta look at ya.'

Asha shook her head. 'I don't really want to have to explain this.' Even just Hershel knowing wasn't going to do Merle any good. She was sure Daryl was thinking the same thing.

He grunted, but didn't push it. 'Just bruised?'

'Dunno.' Her fingers went back to her rib cage. 'Mostly, I think.' She traced the gap between her bottom two ribs on her left side. 'But every now and then, there's sharp pain— ' she winced as her fingers found the spot '—here.'

Asha was surprised when Daryl brushed her hand out of the way and ran his own calloused fingers down the ribs she'd been touching, gently at first and then a little more firmly until Asha's flinch told him he'd found the right spot.

'Cracked I reckon,' he said. 'Hurt like that anywhere else?'

Asha shook her head.

'How about when ya take a deep breath.'

She took one, gritting her teeth slightly as the tender spot pulled.

'Nope, just that one spot.' She smiled a little bemused.

'What?' He shrugged, dropping his hands. 'I've had cracked ribs before. Oughta strap em. It'll help with the pain.'

'Was gonna,' she said, stepping over to the bunk and picking up a bandage she'd pinched from the stash of medical supplies earlier on. She started awkwardly wrapping it around her ribs. 'You started saying something before?'

'Wanted ta thank ya for helping with Merle earlier, him wantin' to come after us. Glenn said ya helped stop him, talked him down…' He snorted. 'Was gonna say without him hurtin' anyone, but obviously that ain't the case.'

'You're welcome,' Asha said, then cursed as she dropped the end of the unevenly wrapped bandage. The whole thing started unravelling and she cursed again as she instinctively slapped a hand to her ribs trying to catch the material.

'He didn't mean it.' She repeated, trying to recover the end of the bandage. Daryl snorted, and recovered the bandage for her, waving her hand off as she tried to take it off him. He started wrapping the bandage around her ribs.

'He apologised yet?'

'No.' She hadn't pushed him to, to be honest. 'But don't worry, I'll make him.'

Daryl grunted.

'Daryl, really, it's not that big a deal.'

He finished up with the bandage and she gingerly pulled her singlet back down. 'Thanks,' she said, and then she smirked at him. 'Maybe your brother wanted to see if it really was that easy to break me in two.'

Daryl snorted. 'Hell, if Merle wanted to break you in two, you'd be in two.'


	14. Chapter 14

**[A/N:Thanks to all the new followers and favourites! Always give me a bit of a pick up to see those numbers creeping up. Biggest thanks to the reviewers of course, especially SorrowJunky, Leyshla Gisel, and Kyokkou- it's so good to hear what you're enjoying about this story. Personally, I'm happy people seem to be liking 'Asha the Merle whisperer' (thanks SorrowJunky)—and Kyokkou, guess you'll have your answer pretty soon about whether or not I'm going to stay canon with Merle.**

**Also, I have a fairly thick skin, so— so long as you aren't nasty about it— if I'm doing something that you don't think works (either plot, characterisation or technical writing skills wise), feel free to let me know.**

**I kinda dig this chapter though, so hope you guys do too.]**

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><p>Asha walked quietly in the tombs. It was eerie in the silence, the long halls dank and dim in the half light that managed to filter through the limited barred windows. The air was stale, as though the place had been abandoned for millennia rather than the twelve months or so since the turn. Without too much effort, Asha could easily imagine she was the last person alive. She shivered.<p>

She was looking for Merle. He often slunk off down here to get away from everyone, she suspected he sought out the eerie solitude of the place. Based on his attitude when she'd seen him earlier that morning, he was definitely in the mood for solitude at the moment.

Asha still wasn't quite sure what had happened. Somehow, she'd managed to sleep in, and when she'd woken in her own cell, ribs stiff and aching, she had decided it really was time to go push Merle for an apology. Although she had been comforted by his obvious support the night before, the nasty aftertaste from their fight yesterday still hadn't washed entirely away—and Asha had been surprised to find that that bothered her. She had been pretty sure she could count on Merle's mercurial temper to have forgotten all about it—particularly since Daryl had made it back ok. No harm no foul, right? But still, she had known she'd feel better after they'd had a friendly encounter to help put it behind them.

She had found him in his cell, the furthest on the upper level, as far away from the group as he could get without actually being in another cell block. And he had been pissed. He was muttering under his breath as he upended his pack and shook out its contents onto the bunk. Asha thought she caught the word 'fire', but it could just have easily been 'wire' or 'tyre.'

'Fuck off,' he snapped when he saw her leaning against the door. Not the warm welcome she was after, but she persisted.

'Well good morning to you too sunshine,' she quipped, hoping to diffuse his mood. When he ignored her she kept on—filling in his side of the conversation when didn't respond.

'So how'd ya sleep in your new deluxe surrounds?…Oh, fine thanks Asha, thanks for asking. How 'bout you?...Oh yeah, great. Definite improvement on the floor. Except for some reason I have these damn aching ribs. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would ya?'

Merle stopped rummaging through the items scattered across the bed and turned to her. 'What d'ya want Asha?'

His tone was bitter and there was such anger and loss in his eyes that she forgot all about her apology.

'Can I help?' She asked quietly.

He turned back the bunk. 'No'

'Come on Merle.' She reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

He spun on her. 'Get the hell away from me Asha.'

She flinched back. 'What the hell, Merle? What's going on?'

He rubbed a weary hand through his silver hair. 'Just..Ya watch yourself around these people.'

Her brow furrowed. 'Whatd'ya mean?'

He was silent.

'Merle, what do you mean? Thought our side was the good guys, right?'

'There ain't no good people left,' he said bitterly.

'Even Daryl?' Asha pushed.

'Never said my brother was good,' Merle snapped. 'He always was the sweet one, sure...But that ain't the same thing.' He turned his back to her. 'Just go the fuck away, Asha. I ain't want ya around.'

She tossed her hands up in frustration. 'Fine Merle... whatever. Like you fucking know the difference between good and bad any more anyway.'

'What,' he spun on her angrily, nose flaring and eyes flat. 'Ya think ya one of the good ones? Whatd'ya do that drove your brother off?'

Asha's jaw dropped and she took a step back.

'Oh yeah girly, I figured that one out.' His mouth twisted and he jabbed her shoulder with his index finger. 'Ya didn't lose him. Ya did something so bad he up and left ya—and in this shit storm of a world that's saying something.'

Asha had stopped breathing, her hand's white and clenched tight against her stomach as she looked at him wide eyed. He wasn't quite on the mark, but he was close enough to hurt.

He stepped closer, looming above her, his breath harsh on her face. 'I've seen you Asha, seen the look in ya eyes when ya thought we were between you and Nash...Whatever ya did, ya'd do it again if ya thought it'd help ya.' He leant close, blue eyes broken and seething and hissed in her face. 'There ain't no good ones left—you, Daryl and this whole damn group included.'

Asha had turned and fled.

That had been a low blow, even for Merle. Asha had first been shocked, then angry. But now that her initial reaction had faded, she was mostly just hurt. Odd as it was to realise it, of the group, Merle was the person she was closest too, and it hurt that he had turned on her like that.

But she was worried too.

The conversation played over and over in her head. Merle was volatile for sure, but he had never been that vicious to her before. The more she thought about it the more certain she was that something specific had set him off. She didn't think that she had ever seen him this raw, even when she'd snuck up on him and Daryl in the woods right after the bridge. Half the morning had passed, but she hadn't been able to shake her unease. After pacing the cell block a while, she'd eventually given up and gone to find him. She wasn't really sure what she was going to do when she did find him, but was resolute that she couldn't leave things the way they were between them—even if she had to provide a full explanation of what had happened with Nash. Her stomach turned, but she grimly repressed her misgivings at the thought.

'Merle?'

She jumped as Daryl's voice echoed out of the corridors in front of her. _Maybe he'd had a run in with Merle this morning too._

'Merle, you down here?'

Asha started towards Daryl's voice.

'Merle!'

Asha was about to call out to Daryl herself—since it's never a good idea to sneak up on someone who customarily carries around a loaded crossbow—when she heard Merle answer.

'Hey little brother.' The drawl was back in his voice. They were somewhere up ahead, still out of sight. Asha heard Daryl respond, but couldn't quite make out the words.

'I was just about ta holler back at ya,' Merle said.

They were in the boiler room. Asha sidled up to the door, staying out of sight. She grimaced. She seemed to be making a habit out of listening in on people lately—these two in particular.

'Whatd'ya doin' down here?' Daryl asked.

'Looking for a little...ah... crystal, man.' There was false bravado in Merle's tone. 'Yeah, I know. I shouldn't mess my life up when everything's goin' so sweet, right?' Asha could almost feel the smirk dripping off Merle's words.

She heard the soft sounds of someone pacing, Daryl she guessed. 'Ya talk to Rick yet?'

'Yeah, oh yeah... I'm in.' Merle paused. 'But he ain't got the stones for it...He's gonna buckle, ya know that right?'

Daryl was still pacing. 'Yeah, well...if he does he does.'

'Ya want him to?'

There was a telling silence.

'Whatever he says goes,' Daryl said eventually.

'Man, do you even possess a pair of balls, little brother?' Merle jeered. 'Are they even attached? I mean, if they are, they belong to you...Ya used to call people like that sheep. What happened to ya?'

'What happened with you and Glenn?' Daryl retorted. 'Maggie?'

'I've done worse,' Merle said without hesitation.

Asha's skin crawled at the flatness in his voice.

'Ya need to grow up,' Merle continued bitterly. 'Things are different now. Ya people look at me like I'm the devil...grabbin' up those little birds like that. Now y'all want to do the same damn thing I did. Snatch someone up and deliver 'em to the Governor, just like me.'

Asha's heart seized in her chest as Merle's words sunk in.

'Hell, people do what they gotta do, or they die.' Merle said.

'Ya can't do things without people any more man,' Daryl said quietly.

Merle snorted. 'Maybe these people need somebody like me around huh? Do their dirty work? Be the bad guy? Maybe that's how it is now.' There was something vicious and desperate and rancorous in his voice. 'How's that hit ya?'

'I just want my brother back.'

'Get outta here man,' Merle snapped, his voice breaking slightly.

Asha quickly flattened herself behind the door. There was moment's hesitation, then Daryl passed silently through the door and disappeared down the corridor.

_Breathe Asha. _White spots had started appearing in front of her eyes as she subconsciously held her breath. Her whole body was tense, hands gripping her thighs, nails digging in through her jeans. Her mind reeled trying to absorb what she'd just heard. They were going to give someone up, to trade one of their own to the Governor. _Michonne._ It had to be. The Governor wasn't interested enough in anyone else for a trade to be worthwhile—except maybe Merle or Rick, and they were obviously both in on this plan.

Asha bit the inside of her cheek, considering just walking away, pretending she hadn't heard what she'd just heard. She wasn't the damn leader of this group and she didn't want to be making decisions about other people's lives.

But then her stomach roiled as Rick's hypocritical words played back through her mind— _earn your place_..._one of us_... Her lips drew back in a snarl. She was suddenly furious, at Rick the unworthy lying bastard that these people trusted to keep them safe, at Daryl and Merle for going along with him—even if Daryl was obviously hoping he wouldn't go through with it—and at the whole damn world for becoming such a sick and twisted place. She tasted bile in her throat. She was bitter that her lack of trust in Rick had been validated, and, she was even more bitter to realise, that some tiny part of her had been hoping Rick was what everyone thought, that he was better than she was. That part of her felt horribly betrayed. She hissed through her bared teeth, pried her fingernails out of her legs, and clenched her hands into fists to try to still their shaking. Then she slipped quietly away from the door and went looking for Michonne.

* * *

><p>An hour or she was charging frantically back into the boiler room. She hadn't been able to find Michonne...and then she hadn't been able to find Merle. At first she hadn't been worried—because she'd seen Rick and Daryl out in the courtyard helping Glenn reinforce part of the gate and knew they'd be tied up for a while. Stupidly, she'd thought that meant their plan hadn't been put into action yet. But as she'd searched, little snippets of the conversation she'd overheard, and the conversation she'd had with Merle in his cell, played over in her head.<p>

_He ain't got the stones… _

_Maybe these people need someone like me…_

_There ain't no good people left._

She had a sick feeling in her stomach. Sick enough that she'd detoured past her cell block and slung her spear across her back as she searched. He'd done something stupid. She just knew it.

Daryl and Rick looked up in shock as she hurtled into the room. She pulled up short, out of breath, eyes darting nervously between them.

'You seen Merle,' Rick demanded, taking a step towards her. Her stomach dropped. _Too late._

'No,' she gasped, 'and I can't find Michonne either.'

Rick and Daryl both spun on her.

'What the hell do ya know about it?' Daryl growled, appearing suddenly in her face without seeming to cross the intervening distance.

Asha planted the heel of her palm on his chest and shoved back hard. 'I know the three of you were planning to give her up to the Governor.'

Daryl snarled at her.

'How could you do that?' she hissed.

'We're not.' Rick said.

'Bullshit,' Asha snapped. She gestured at Daryl. 'I heard you down here talking to Merle earlier.'

Rick glared at her. 'We were. We ain't.' He turned to Daryl. 'You talked to him about it?'

Daryl turned a couple of paces. 'Yeah. He said a lot of things.'

'Like what?' Rick cut in.

'Like ya didn't have the stones to go through with it,' Daryl grunted, pacing again.

'He's taken her,' Asha said. 'Merle,' she added unnecessarily, even though she knew from the quick look Daryl and Rick shared that they'd already reached the same conclusion.

'I'm going after him,' Rick said.

Daryl shook his head, still pacing. 'Ya can't track for shit.' He started for the external exit at the back of the room.

'Well, then the both of us,' Rick said.

'Nah, just me. I said I'll go and I'll go. 'Sides, when we come back, ya need to be ready.' He pushed the door open. 'Ya family too,' he mumbled. Rick nodded.

Asha didn't say anything, but she followed Daryl to the door.

'Hell no,' Daryl hissed.

'Not askin',' she said, pushing past him.

'Take her,' Rick said. 'I'll feel better if you've got an extra set of hands.' Asha's eyes flashed to Rick's in surprise, then she nodded tightly.

Daryl's mouth twisted sourly.

'We don't have time to argue about it,' Asha said.

'Ya best keep up.' He shoved her out into the sunlight and slammed the door behind them.

'We don't need to track him,' Asha said. 'You know where the handover was supposed to happen right?'

Daryl nodded.

'So let's take the bike. You want to catch them right?'

Before she'd finished speaking, Daryl grasped her arm and directed her at a jog in the direction of the courtyard where the bike was stored.

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: So, I am curious to know whether or not the changing tense around the flashback to Asha and Merle's argument in the first part of this chapter was confusing to read? In my head, the chapter picks up with Asha wandering the tombs, she then starts thinking about the argument she had with Merle and we drop into flashback mode to actually hear the argument. The flashback ends when Asha flees Merle's cell, and then there is a bit of exposition as to why Asha is looking for Merle, before Daryl's voice pulls us back into action in the present. Of course, i know this is how i wanted it to read - but did it actually come across that way?]**


	15. Chapter 15

Not five miles from the prison they found Michonne, katana in hand, dispatching a deadhead as she walked along the side of the road in front of a semi residential area. She was headed in the direction of the prison. Daryl pulled the bike up beside her.

'Ya kill him?' He shouted over the roar of the engine.

Michonne shook her head. 'He let me go'.

Before Asha realised what was happening, Daryl had kicked out the stand and was manhandling her off the bike.

'Hey,' she protested. His eyes were dark, mouth set in a thin line. She tried to push his arms away, but he quite firmly moved her in the direction of Michonne— before her heel caught and she was suddenly on her ass on the ground, one hand pressed to her injured ribs.

'Don't let anyone come after me,' Daryl said, before revving the engine and tearing away.

Asha and Michonne watched in silence as he disappeared over a rise in the road, the roar of the bike trailing after him. For a long moment after there was quiet, broken only by the sound of the gentle breeze rustling in the overgrown grass and neglected gardens in front of the houses. Asha watched the fallen leaves on the tarmac, still fluttering in the bike's wake.

'Reckon he'll catch him?' she asked.

Michonne shook her head. 'He's been gone a while.'

Asha's forehead creased. 'Crazy bastard's gonna get himself killed. He tell you what he was planning?'

Michonne snorted. 'That crazy fucker doesn't know himself what he's gonna do from one moment to the next. Besides, we didn't really chat.' Her mouth twisted. 'This isn't the first time he's tried to kill me.'

Asha looked at her sharply. 'But he didn't go through with it. Wasn't even his idea this time. Rick made the call.' Her earlier anger at Rick came flooding back. 'How could he do that? He's supposed to be keeping the group safe.' She shook her head. 'How can they trust him to be in charge?'

Michonne arched an eyebrow at her. 'Rick changed his mind—and before Merle did, by the way...And I'm not part of the group, not really. Not yet. He _was_ trying to keep the group safe.' She shrugged and looked off into the distance. 'Decisions like that are what it takes to lead people sometimes these days.'

'So if Rick had handed you over you would have been ok with that?' Asha was incredulous.

'Of course not. But in the end, that's not the call he made.'

Asha frowned. 'Daryl didn't think he'd go through with it. But from what I gather Rick's changed a lot since all this started.' It still bothered her that Rick had thrown her in with Merle as bait. 'Dunno if I'd be trusting his moral compass anymore, it seems a bit warped these days.'

'Different world, and you've known Rick for what, five minutes? Michonne gave Asha a long look. 'I get why he had to consider it. Don't tell me that you don't.'

What galled Asha was that she did. Deliver up a virtual stranger to die in exchange for the safety of her family—or in her case, the return of her brother? Her throat tightened and for a second she couldn't breathe. Oh god, what she wouldn't give to have Nash back. Her stomach ached at the thought. She couldn't even pretend to herself that she wouldn't have considered it. Hell, she wasn't sure that she would have pulled back from going through with it doing it the way Rick—and Merle—had. That thought made her blood turn to ice.

Her shoulders slumped. 'Damn it,' she muttered. She looked down at the ground. 'I knew they were handing you over.'

Michonne looked at her sharply.

'I overhead Daryl talking to Merle about it.' She rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead as she looked up at Michonne. 'I went looking for you, but you and Merle were already gone.' She waved a hand quickly in Michonne's direction. 'I'm not trying to suggest you owe me or anything, just because I say I was going to help. I just didn't want to cover up the fact that i knew.'

Michonne was quiet for a moment, then said knowingly. 'So you considered it too—'

'And decided against Rick,' Asha retorted.

'Why?'

Asha looked Michonne in the eye. 'Two reasons. Merle's told me about the Governor. He wants to get hold of you alright, but that wouldn't have held him off in the long run. When he was done with you, he would have come back for the rest of us. Handing you over would have been a waste of time. I think Merle thought that too.' She shook her head, puzzled. 'I still don't really get why he brought you out here knowing that.'

'Wasn't really about me,' Michonne said. 'Merle thought that if he did this for the group, they'd start letting him back in, even if it was just as the guy who does the dirty jobs.'

Asha 's brow furrowed slightly, but she couldn't detect any real malice in Michonne's voice as she offered her assessment of Merle.

'What was the second reason?'

'If it was me I'd want to know.'

* * *

><p>Asha drove her spear through the skull of the deadhead sprawled on the ground, cutting it off mid snarl, and then spun quickly to check behind her. She could see a couple of walkers in the field across the road, but they seemed unaware of her for the moment. There were five or six houses along the stretch of road, most with doors kicked in and windows broken. Even if they hadn't obviously been picked over she would not have gone inside and risked missing Daryl and Merle. Michonne had continued walking back to the prison, but Asha had decided to wait. Daryl and Merle had to come this way to get back. She couldn't face the thought of going back to the prison without knowing whether the brothers were ok. She was choosing not to analyse that feeling too closely at the moment. She paced through the overgrown front yards, relishing the distraction offered by the occasional walker which stumbled into her path, eyes drifting to the road every few seconds.<p>

She heard Daryl's bike before she saw it. She rushed to the edge of the road, straining her eyes as it came over the slight rise and down towards her. There was only one man on it, the familiar shape of his crossbow poking up over his shoulder. Her stomach seized and she bent over double and gagged. The grass blurred in front of her.

She heard the bike go past her, but before it had gone far she heard it turn and then come to a stop behind her.

'Get on,' Daryl snarled.

She held a hand out to stop him saying anything else. Her eyes were fixed on the grass, not really seeing it, and she braced her other hand on her knee as she drew in a couple of long reverberating breaths, trying to steady herself. She wasn't sure why it should affect her this much. Daryl growled something and she heard him kick out the stand on the bike and come towards her.

_Come on Asha, get your shit together. You only knew him a few days. _

She backed away.

'What the hell are you still doin' here?' He snapped.

'What happened?' She asked, forcing her eyes up to Daryl. His eyes were red rimmed and raw.

'Like you give shit. Get on that god damn bike or I will leave you behind,' he snarled.

'Fuck you Daryl,' she snapped eyes flashing. 'You don't know.' She took a long breath, felt it hitch in the back of her throat. 'I think your brother may have been my friend.'

Daryl's eyes narrowed at her.

She fought hard to swallow the lump in her throat. 'Now what the fuck happened?'

His voice was flat. 'Ambush. Looks like the Governor must have had at least twenty men with him. No way that bastard was letting us walk away if we'd brought Michonne. Merle sniped a couple of 'em, found their bodies. Governor wasn't one of 'em, though.' Daryl looked away. 'Merle was dead when I got there...Turned... Reckon it weren't no accident that he was shot in the chest not the head. He… I….'

Suddenly Asha didn't want to know any more. Her chest felt hollow, but she knew it was only a shadow of what she would feel if she ever came across Nash turned. She choked in a long deep breath, chest jerking, and then another. Done was done and Merle was gone. She fought the stinging that sprang up in the back of her eyes at that thought. She swiped angrily at her eyes as she straightened up and looked around.

They had company coming in again. That god damn bike was too god damn loud. She could see a handful of deadheads stumbling towards them, none close enough to be worried about yet.

Daryl was still staring off into the distance. Asha reached out and put a hand on his arm. He flinched, but in a distracted kind of way, and didn't shake her off.

'Come on,' she said gently. 'We gotta go.'

He nodded numbly and they got on the bike.

'Wait,' Asha said. 'Give me that.'

She tugged Daryl's crossbow off him and slung it across her own back next to her spear so she could sit more comfortably behind him. The scent of leather from his vest filled her nose, for a second distracting her from the smell of blood and sweat. She wrapped her arms around his waist, leant in and rested her head against his back, ignoring the spasm of tension that went through him. She didn't much care if he was ok with it, she just wanted the comfort of a bit of human contact. Daryl didn't exactly relax, but he gunned the bike when it became clear she wasn't going to move. They rode back to the prison like that—Asha with her cheek pressed into Daryl's back, gazing at the paddocks and trees flash by with unseeing eyes, and aching as she thought about how she was going to miss that crass, damaged, crazy ass bastard.

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: Are you gonna miss him? I'm am.**

**...but there will be a lot more Daryl and Asha now.]**


	16. Chapter 16

**[A/N: Just a short one...but at least it's up quick.]**

* * *

><p>Asha was jolted back to awareness as the bike rattled over the grate and into the prison courtyard. Glenn, on watch again, had opened the gate and was dragging it closed behind them.<p>

'You better find Rick,' he called as soon as the bike's engine died.

Damn fucking straight she would find Rick, and give him a piece of her mind. She flung herself off the back of the bike and stormed into the cell block.

Her eyes fixed on Rick, speaking quietly to Hershel with the rest of the group gathered around. She charged over, slamming both hands into his chest and shoving him backwards, hard.

'Are you outta your god damned mind,' she roared. 'You were going to give Michonne up to that murdering bastard.'

The small part of her brain that wasn't consumed with fury at Rick noticed that no-one looked surprised. Rick must have filled them in.

She shoved him again. 'You were going to sell out one of your own for a mere chance. After all that crap you spouted about protecting everyone in the group. And now Merle's dead—and that on you.' She felt her chest constrict. 'Not that any of you care about that. Y'all painted him as a cold blooded murder in your heads, and that's what he tried to be—'

'That's what he was,' Glenn snapped.

'That's all anyone ever let him be,' Asha snapped back. 'It's what he thought he had to be—for you people—and it got him killed.' Her voice broke at the end.

'That's enough Asha,' Hershel said.

Rick said nothing, just stared back at her with flinty eyes.

'You can't expect us to be sorry Merle's gone,' Maggie said.

Asha heard Daryl growl in his throat behind her.

'I'm sorry Daryl,' Maggie said, half extending a hand toward him. 'I'm sorry you're hurting—but he was bad for us, and he was bad for you.'

'He coulda been better,' Daryl muttered.

'If he'd gotten the chance,' Asha snapped. 'But when the high and mighty Rick fucking Grimes is willing to hand over one of his own to someone like the Governor, then what chance does someone like Merle have of being anything better than what the Governor thought he was—what all you people thought he was—a dog to do the dirty work.'

She felt tears pricking the back of her eyes as she realised that Merle really had never thought he could be anything better. It broke her heart. She grit her teeth and fought hard to hold on to her anger. 'It wouldn't have worked, by the way, handing Michonne over to the governor.'

'What do you mean?' Hershel cut in.

Daryl answered. 'Governor was waiting with at least twenty men, no way he was letting whoever showed up walk away.'

Rick didn't look surprised.

'You knew,' Asha said shocked. 'You knew it wouldn't work and you were' still gonna do it.'

'I didn't know.' Rick said. There was a beat. 'But I guess I'm not surprised.'

'Whatever,' Michonne cut in angrily. 'Rick didn't go through with it, and that's what matters. If I can let it go, the rest of you can too.' She fixed everyone in the room with a glare as she spoke. 'Don't any of you tell me that if it had been your son and your daughter, you wouldn't have considered giving up an outsider as well. The fact that he didn't go through with it means more than the fact that he considered it.'

Asha was shaking her head without realising it and Michonne spun on her.

'Don't give me that shit Asha,' she snapped. 'You already admitted you would have thought about it too.'

Rick's eyes snapped to her in shock.

'It's not that,' Asha said.

She had only just realised that the pieces of a decision had been forming in her head ever since she'd learnt of Merle's death, and as she'd argued with Rick, they'd slipped into place in the back of her mind. She was no longer angry, just completely washed out, and heartsore at the decision that had crept up on her.

'You're right, I would have thought about it. But I'm not in charge of a group of people who think I'm looking out for them.'

'Ya reckon ya'd do a better job?' Daryl snapped.

'Hell no,' she said vehemently. 'But I'm not pretending that I can.' She schooled her voice to calmness. 'But I can't stay here. I wish—'

'You can't be serious?' Maggie said.

'Your going back on your own?' Michonne said over the top of her.

Asha nodded at Michonne tightly. 'I've done it before, I can do it again.' She looked at Rick. 'I know you've done a lot of good for this group Rick, but I wasn't there to see it and much as I might want things to be different...I don't trust you.' She was sure that wasn't a surprise to anyone, Rick least of all, but somehow she felt better—clearer—for having said it out loud. 'And I can't stay here and second guess every decision you make.'

She took a deep breath, hating that she could feel tears welling in her eyes. 'I will help you with the Governor, but after that...' Her eyes tracked across Daryl, his face grim. She had made a promise to Merle, even if he couldn't live up to his end of the bargain, and she instinctively knew that if she now she abandoned Daryl with the threat hanging over them, she would feel that she had betrayed Merle for the rest of her days.

Also, she wasn't going to deny that there was part of her that was looking forward to driving a knife though the Governor's remaining eye.

She turned and walked towards her cell.

'Wait.'

She was surprised to hear Rick's voice.

'You two missed a few things whilst you were gone.'

'Yeah, it moving day or somethin'?' Daryl cut in behind her.

For the first time since she had entered the cell block, Asha had a proper look around, scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. The group was clearly in the middle of packing up.

'What the hell's going on,' Daryl demanded.

'It wasn't my call to make, whether we give someone up,' Rick said in a dead, tired sounding voice. 'I was wrong to try and make it on my own.' He rubbed a hand through his hair. 'I've done my best to keep this group alive, but I can't decide how we live...We survive by sticking together, but we do isn't my call any more. I can't make those calls on my own. We vote.'

Asha was stunned. It was the last thing she'd expected Rick to say.

He waved a hand around at the group. 'We've already voted, stay or go. But you get your say too.'

'We ain't runnin',' Daryl snapped. 'That cocksucker killed my brother. I ain't goin' nowhere til I put a bolt between that bastard's eyes.' He met Asha's eyes and she gave him a tiny nod. Merle deserved that at least.

Rick looked at Asha. 'You get a vote too. If you stay with the group, it won't be my decisions that you'll be second guessing.' His voice was calm. Too calm. Asha could tell he was holding down his anger at her.

Her mind reeled as she tried to re-evaluate. Could she stay with the group if Rick wasn't in charge? Voting or not, she knew Rick's opinion would still carry a huge amount of weight with the group. Was this slender attempt at democracy going to be enough? She couldn't pretend that her heart hadn't leapt in her chest at the thought that maybe she didn't have to go back on the road alone.

'Stay or go Asha?' Rick pressed.

She looked around the prison, the people in it, a lot of still faces watching to see her decision. Heading out on the road by herself was one thing, but going on the run with the entire group—with Hershel on crutches, baby Judith?

She took a deep breath. 'Not like its going to make a difference, but I've been on the road before, for a while. I know you have too. Do you remember what that's like? Really remember? Always moving, how hard it is to find somewhere safe to sleep, something to eat.' She swiped both her hands down passed the corners of her mouth as she looked around the cell block. 'This place is strongest I've seen in a while. I don't reckon you should give it up that easily.'

_And if you leave the river, I can't come with you anyway._

Rick looked at her and then Daryl, cold eyes burning in that way of his again. 'Good. That's what we think too.'

Daryl grunted. 'Good. Let's fight the bastard.'

Around them, the group continued to pack up.


	17. Chapter 17

**[A/N: Happy Australia Day!] **

* * *

><p>'We did it!'<p>

Maggie's cry rang along the catwalk as she stood up behind the metal sheeting they'd used to reinforce the catwalk.

Asha swung her semi automatic under her arm and pushed the visor on her helmet back. The riot gear was sweltering and her back was slick with sweat.

'Hell yeah we did,' she called back, a note of incredulity in her voice.

Had Glenn's scraped together ambush plan really worked? Did they really just drive out the Governor's army with a few smoke bombs and a handful of people?

Glenn was whooping in excitement from where he was positioned on the landing. Asha felt a grin spread across her face.

'Glenn!' She screamed. 'You are a fucking genius my friend!'

Maggie's grin matched her own. Asha spread her arms wide, ignoring the twinge in her rib cage, tossed her head back and crowed with delight at their success. Half a second later she heard Maggie's stunned laughter join her.

'I take it from the banshee impression that it worked,' Rick called dryly.

Rick, Daryl, Carol and Michonne had come out of the tombs and were in the courtyard, looking up at her and Maggie with amused expressions on their faces. Asha scanned them all quickly, and breathed a little easier when she realised they were all ok. She felt her eyes lingering on Daryl and jerked them away.

'I vote Glenn is master of tactical decisions from now on,' she called back down, still grinning.

'We're not done yet,' Rick said grimly.

* * *

><p>The four of them sat in silence in the dual cab, Rick, Daryl, Asha and Michonne. The hum of the engine and tyres on tarmac was the only sound. They were going to Woodbury, to find Andrea and to finish it. Maggie and Glenn hadn't been willing to return, so it was just the four of them.<p>

Michonne had said that it would never be over until either they or the Governor were gone. Asha remembered the cold faced man she'd seen on the day she'd arrived at the prison, the same man she seen driving his people into the prison earlier that day. Cold and cruel and thrilling at the slaughter all at once.

She knew Michonne was right. From the stony set to Rick's mouth, he knew it too.

She knew that, but she was really there for Merle. When Daryl, face grim, had started for the car after the ambush, she'd followed him without thought. She knew killing the Governor wasn't going to bring Merle back. She also knew from experience that is wasn't likely to make her feel much better either. It didn't take the loss away, but it would dull the edge of the bitterness that churned in her stomach whenever the realisation bit that her friend was gone whilst the bastard that had killed him still lived. She looked across Daryl, heart aching at the bleak lines in his face, and hoped it took some of the bitterness away for him too.

The corner of her mouth quirked sourly. She wasn't proud of it, but she wondered if she was the only person in the car who had set out to deliberately kill someone before.

_Needs doing though._

Suddenly, Rick stomped on the break and they swerved violently around the army truck stopped in the middle of the road. The dual cab rocked sideways on its wheels before skidding to a stop alongside the truck. A pickup was stopped not far ahead of it, seemingly abandoned, doors flung wide and panels raked with bullet holes.

Asha recognised both vehicles them from the prison—last she'd seen they'd been tearing out through the gate with a third vehicle under a barrage of gunfire laid down by her, Maggie and Glenn.

Her mouth dropped open as the four of the them pushed open their doors and eased themselves out onto the road. Bodies were strewn across the road and out into the nearby field. Those quick to turn were already feeding on their former friends, and the groans and damp snarling sounds of the dead feeding filled the air.

'What the hell,' Daryl muttered, looking out into the field. Asha walked over to join him at the edge of the road. She didn't need to be a tracker to realise that the people face down in the grass had fled from the road and been mown down.

Something suddenly slammed against the inside of the truck cab window. Asha jumped, lost her footing on the grassy verge and slipped to her knee in the ditch at the side of the road. Heart pounding, she scrambled back to her feet. Rick's gun and Daryl's crossbow were trained on the dark haired wild eyed woman who had both palms pressed against the window.

'He killed them,' she near sobbed through the glass. 'He just…' her eyes moved across the road and field. 'Opened fire.'

'Come out of there.' Rick said. He lowered his gun slightly, after a quick glance to check Daryl's crossbow hadn't moved.

The woman pushed the door ajar and near collapsed out of the truck. She pressed a hand to her mouth as she looked around. She was muddy, and there was a great smear of blood across her back. 'He's a madman,' she said eyes wide.

'What happened,' Rick pressed, his voice low and calm.

Her voice trembled. 'He pulled across the road and made us stop. Wanted us to go back and finish you off... We wouldn't do it. We're not an army, we're just...people.' There was a pause while she tried to find the words. 'He just, started shooting. All of us. I thought I was dead.' She started sobbing in earnest.

Rick lowered his gun the rest of the way and raked his fingers through his hair as he looked around.

'Karen,' Michonne said to the sobbing woman. 'Karen, we need to find Andrea. She wasn't with the group that attacked the prison.'

Karen's eyes jerked up. 'Andrea's with you...The Governor said she betrayed us, that she was your spy and led him into an ambush when he went to negotiate with you yesterday.' She scanned their faces. 'He said she was with you at the prison.'

Daryl spat on the road. 'Lyin' piece of shit.'

Rick held Karen's eyes as he shook his head. 'We haven't seen Andrea since we first met with the Governor three days ago. She'll always be welcome with us, but she's no spy.'

'Rick,' Michonne pleaded. 'We have to find her. You know what he can do.'

He nodded. 'Let's go. You too, Karen. We're not leaving you out here.'

Asha wasn't sure why she turned back to the field for a final look, but as soon as she did, the backpack caught her eye. It was on the back of a scraggly walker who was turned away from her, face buried in the entrails of one of Woodbury's recently felled citizens. The pack was black, with a large Australian flag patch stitched across the back. It seemed to swell until it filled her whole vision.

It was Nash's.

He'd brought that bag back after spending a summer as a dive master on the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast. Asha remembered the grin on his face when she'd met him at LAX, that pack slung casually across his shoulder, and the feel of his arms pulling her into huge bear hug.

She gave a low cry and raced into the field.

A handful of walkers were in the field, and she drew their attention like moths to a flame. Fresh meat is always best. Her spear blurred in her hand as she wrenched it through the skull of the first to reach her. She pivoted away on her heel, driving her spear under the jaw of another, then kicking a third in the hip in stabbing it through the head as it fell to the ground. Rick or Daryl, or maybe Michonne, shouted behind her.

The walker wearing Nash's pack hadn't moved from its meal. She made a beeline for it, absently taking out another two walkers before reaching it.

She slowed.

_It's not big enough to be Nash, not big enough._

She moved slowly around the side of the walker. Its head was tipped forwards, hands clawing entrails to its mouth, face hidden behind a screen of tattered hair, too muddy for Asha to tell its colour. It had been dead for a while.

The walker caught her scent and looked up slowly, fixing Asha with its filmy eyes. Half a sob escaped her and she stumbled backwards. The face was all wrong. Slanted eyes looked at her beneath swarthy brows.

_Not Nash. _

She choked on a hysterical sob of relief.

_Not Nash, not Nash, not Nash. _

The walker that was not Nash was on its feet, teeth gnashing as it tripped over the body it had just been eating as it sought to take the most direct route to her. Shoulders shaking she drove her spear through its head as it sprawled on the ground.

Then she started pulling the pack off its back, struggling awkwardly as she tried to manhandle its arms though the straps, chest heaving with silent hysterical laughter. She couldn't get it off. The creature was a dead weight and the flesh of its arms stripped off as she wrestled with the straps.

Then Daryl was there, losing a bolt at snarling walker coming towards them. Asha realised Michonne was in the field too, her katana spinning as she took out a walker. Rick was still on the road with Karen.

'Are you outta your goddamn mind?' Daryl hissed, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her roughly to her feet. 'What the fuck is wrong with you.'

'Nash's pack,' she gasped.

Daryl's eyes widened, flickered to the body at the feet and then back to her with a sudden flash of sympathy.

'Not Nash,' she half laughed half sobbed.

_Not Nash, not Nash._

'But Nash's pack.' She grinned like a maniac, gripping Daryl's arm 'I need it, it'll help me find him. If I can figure out where this walker was...'

She trailed off.

Daryl was looking at her like she was a few cans short of a six pack. The sympathy was still in his eyes. There were some probable ways that Nash's pack had ended up on a walker whom she wouldn't have recognised when he was human—and some less probable ones. Thinking she would find something in Nash's pack that would help locate him was definitely banking on one of the less probable ones.

'Daryl,' Rick called from the road. 'We gotta go.'

She tugged her arm out of Daryl's grip and went back to pulling at the pack. She managed to get an arm free before Daryl bent, swearing under his breath, and helped her roll the corpse to get the other arm free.

'Hell no,' he said, as Asha started to open the pack, ready to go through it there and then. He planted a rough hand on the top of the pack. 'We got stuff to do remember?'

She glared at him, but then nodded and clutched the pack to her chest. She was already covered in blood and filth, so a little more meant nothing. Daryl started her towards the road with a shove in the shoulder.

'Did I miss the part where we started robbing the dead?' Rick asked dryly when they joined him on the road.

'It's Nash's,' Asha said, noting Rick's quick glance at Daryl, and Daryl's tiny head shake in response.

'Not Nash,' Asha confirmed. 'Just his pack.'

Rick nodded, his expression carefully blank. 'Ok. But put it the trunk for now. I need you focused till we deal with Woodbury.'

Asha nodded reluctantly.

He had a point.

She let Daryl take the pack out of her hands and stow it in the trunk. Then she got in the car without meeting anyone else's eyes, hating the sympathy she could see there.

He wasn't dead.

* * *

><p>It was dark before they reached Woodbury.<p>

Not wanting to announce their presence, they parked the car some distance away from the wall and approached on foot, ghosting quickly between the abandoned cars scattered along the road. Rick and Daryl led, Asha and Michonne brought up the rear with Karen in the middle.

Asha shouldered her semi automatic rifle and scanned the wall with narrowed eyes. Her spear was in the car, and although she knew the rifle was better suited to storming Woodbury, she missed the comforting weight of her spear across her back.

As they darted across gap towards their final bit of cover—a burnt out sedan with rusting body and shattered windows—there were flashes of light from the top of the wall and bullets ricocheted across the car. Heart pounding, Asha sprinted hard and slumped behind the back tyre before returning fire.

'Tyrese!' Karen shouted between spurts of gunfire. She started moving away from the car. 'It's me don't— '

'Get down,' Rick hissed, yanking her back.

'Karen,' a man's voice called out of the darkness. 'Karen! Are you ok?'

Karen wrenched free of Rick and stepped away from the car, holding her empty hands up. 'I'm fine.'

'Where's the Governor?'

Asha could make him out now, a large dark figure on the top of the wall, partially concealed behind a stack of tyres. She kept her rifle trained on him.

'He fired on everyone,' Karen said. 'Killed them all.'

There was an incredulous silence from the wall, and Asha saw the man glance across to someone still hidden out of sight.

'Why are you with them?' He asked after a long moment.

'They...' Karen glanced back towards the four of them crouched behind the car, '...saved me.'

There was another long silence and Asha watched Rick grimace and then sling his rifle across his back. 'I'm coming out,' he called, voice tight.

Asha's heart leapt into her throat.

'Nah,' Daryl hissed, locking eyes with Rick, but Rick moved away—hands up—into the open. Asha's skin prickled all over as if she were in the firing line. The man had balls, that was for sure.

Daryl growled in his throat before lowering his rifle. Asha lashed out instinctively to grab hold him, but he avoided her grasp and followed Rick. Asha shared a quick grim glance with Michonne, before swallowing hard and following with her own hands up.

Her eyes flew apprehensively along the length of the wall, but in the dark she couldn't make anything out. The dark shadow of the large man had disappeared. She noted with some jealousy the relaxed way Rick seemed to roll his shoulders as he approached the wall. He was probably faking it, but even faking it was impressive. Personally Asha was wound so tight she thought she might shatter at the next loud noise.

The gate in the wall edged open as Karen reached it, the gap filled by a large dark human shape that held a semi automatic in one hand and pulled the dark haired woman into a rough embrace with the other.

The man—Tyrese, Asha assumed—fixed Rick with a hard stare. 'What are you doing here?' he asked.

'We were coming to finish it,' Rick admitted. 'Until we saw what the Governor did.'

'He killed them?' There was a look of bafflement in the large man's eyes.

Rick nodded. 'Yeah… Karen told us Andrea hoped the wall, going for the prison. She never made it. She might be here.

Tyrese frowned. He gestured behind him to a pretty, dark skinned woman with narrowed eyes. She held a rifle that wasn't exactly still trained on them, but it wasn't exactly lowered either. 'Sasha and I ran into her in the woods after she jumped the wall, but we haven't seen her since.'

Rick shared a grim glance with Daryl. 'We think we know where she might be.'

* * *

><p>The door closed quietly behind Andrea and Michonne. Asha's hands were shaking and she wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed as she leant her back up against the wall. She tried hard not to look at the pool of blood seeping under the door. She watched Rick wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. Daryl was silent, looking at the ground and fiddling aimlessly with his cross bow.<p>

Asha closed her eyes and waited for the crack of the gunshot, feeling the tears pooling in her eyes. She had barely known Andrea, but no-one deserved that.

_No-one gets what they deserve anymore._

She jerked involuntarily at the sharp crack of gunfire.

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, feeling them shake against her face. Ordinarily she hated that she cried so much—at the drop of a hat, as her dad used to say—but she figured today warranted it.

After a long moment, the door opened and Michonne, eyes raw, emerged trembling.

'We can't leave her here,' she said.

Rick nodded. 'Tyrese,' he said to the man who had let them into Woodbury. 'Can you find us a sheet or something?'

The big man nodded and slipped away. Michonne slumped against the wall next to Asha. Asha reached out and squeezed her arm and Michonne's grief ravaged eyes flickered to hers for a moment.

There was silence for a few minutes.

'What now?' Daryl asked quietly.

Rick's eyebrows drew down as he concentrated.

'We can't just leave them here,' he said. The faces of the elderly and children who had stayed behind in Woodbury flashed through Asha's mind. 'Karen was right about the Governor taking just about anyone who could hold a gun with him on the raid on the prison. They're totally unprotected.'

'You want to take them back to the prison with us?' Daryl asked.

'I'm not sure there's a better option.'

Rick glanced around, looking for input.

'We don't know these people,' Daryl said. 'Lotta their people died today, might be that they're gonna blame us for that. Ya sure ya wanna invite that in?'

Rick shook his head. 'I think Karen can help with that. These people know her and she saw what the Governor did. Besides, if they're gonna blame us, leaving them here is only gonna give them more reason.'

Daryl grunted.

Rick looked at Asha. 'Well?'

'I dunno Rick,' she said quietly. Her stomach had clenched at the thought of bringing so many people back to the prison. 'I've been on both sides of this fence. A few days ago I was on the outside, hoping you guys would let me in, but letting people in is dangerous…'

'You really think those kids and elderly are a threat?' Rick said. 'We know Sasha and Tyrese weren't with the Governor long.'

'I know you're probably right Rick, but…and I know its hypocritical of me to suggest anything other than letting them in... but taking in a whole group like this, there's no way of knowing whether everyone is gonna be safe….'

Rick raked a hand through his hair. 'Well, we can't take this back to the group for a vote, so it's gonna have to be the four us. Anyone else got anything to say?'

They looked at Michonne, staring listlessly at the ground. 'I think Andrea gets a vote too,' she said without looking up. 'She fought hard to try to save these people, because she said there were good people here. She'd want us to take them in.' She looked up. 'That gets my vote too.'

Rick nodded. 'That's three in favour, you, me and Andrea.'

Asha struggled with it for a moment. 'I think I know what Hershel would say too. When I spoke to him a couple of days ago he told me he thought we had to take people in or we are just gonna fade away. He was trying to convince me to stay. He'd be in favour of this.' She took a deep breath, ignored the clenching in her stomach, and then nodded. 'Let's at least give them the choice.'

Rick cocked an eyebrow at her. 'Did you really just argue both sides of that argument?'

'Lawyer remember?'

'Maybe not such useless skills after all. Daryl?' Rick asked.

Daryl folded his bottom lip into his mouth and chewed it. Finally he nodded. 'Hell, reckon we handle any threat a handful of kids and elderly pose.'

Rick nodded. 'Alright then. We'll get Tyrese and Karen to make them the offer.'

'What offer?' Tyrese asked, walking towards them down the corridor, a faded orange blanket folded in his arms.

'We think the people here should come back with us to the prison,' Rick said. 'You haven't go the numbers or the muscle to defend this place anymore—and the Governor is still out and he doesn't seem to care much for his own anymore.'

Tyrese nodded. 'I'll ask.'

He held out the blanket.

Rick took it and he and Daryl slipped into the room to collect Andrea. Asha slipped an arm around Michonne as the woman's shoulders started shaking. A moment later, Rick pushed the door open and Daryl came out, Andrea orange shrouded and cradled gently in his arms.

Rick followed and closed the door behind him. 'Let's go home.'


	18. Chapter 18

**[A/N: Lovely people! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! I was pretty excited to crack 50 followers on the last chapter, so wanted to get this up as soon as possible. For those of you who have been waiting for some Asha and Daryl bonding, I hope this satisfies (for the time being anyway.)**

**SorrowJunky, I am tossing up on whether or not to start including some chapters from Daryl's POV. It wasn't the original plan, but I'm starting to see how Daryl's perspective might add something. We'll see... And yeah, I am avoiding your question about how I am going to play Carol, mostly because I'm not loving what I've written on that front and I might still change it.****] **

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><p>The day was done. The light had bled from the sky like cheap dye into water and a sprinkling of stars had appeared in its wake. The air was still. It had the feeling of exhaustion, like the earth itself was too weary to move. Much like the inhabitants of the prison.<p>

They had returned the previous night, the residents of Woodbury piled into a school bus they had scavenged from part of Woodbury's wall. The elderly, the children and the Woodbury survivors had stumbled shell shocked and bewildered out of the bus and into the prison courtyard, hands clutching their few possessions and eyes rolling with some apprehension across the dark walls of their new home.

The expression on Carl's face when they returned was burned in Asha's mind—the contempt with which he'd looked at the new arrivals, the disgust and open hatred on his face when he'd spoken quietly with his father before storming away into the cell block. The intensity of his emotion had shocked her a little, and she was glad then that she hadn't allowed her own emotions to prevent them from bringing back the Woodbury refugees.

The day had been filled with the organised chaos of getting so many new arrivals settled in. The yard had been cleared, the flattened gate had been jerry-rigged back into place until they figured out a more permanent solution. Plans were in place to strip everything useful they could from Woodbury and bring it back to the prison.

Early in the afternoon, Asha had found Michonne and asked for her help. She had been a little surprised when dreadlocked woman had readily agreed. She supposed she could have asked Daryl, but to be honest she didn't want to make him go back there. Asha and Michonne took one of the cars and slipped out the prison. They followed Hershel's directions to the site of the previous meeting with the Governor, and then they looked for Merle. Their dead belonged in the ground. Asha supposed that after Andrea, Michonne could appreciate that.

They found him sprawled on his back in the sun near a silo. They wrapped him a sheet from the prison laundry which Asha had stashed in the car, put him in the boot of the car and took him home. In the late afternoon sun, they buried him next to Andrea.

Daryl had taken the shovel away from her at some point. Later, Rick had tried to take the shovel from Daryl, but Asha had turned on him, teeth bared, and ripped the shovel from his hands. Daryl hadn't argued and Rick and Michonne had left them alone.

Eventually the grave had been deep enough. They laid Merle to rest, struggling between the two of them to lower him into the earth, and then filling the black soil back in—all in silence as far as Asha could recall.

Asha sat cross legged on the ground at the end of the mound of freshly turned dirt. She was filthy from digging and she stared blankly in the near dark at her blistered hands. Her cracked rib was aching, a burning node of pain that seemed to be radiating heat around her torso. On the other side of the dog run, the never ending moans of the dead kept her company—though there were fewer around than usual as the area had been cleared pretty well during the day.

She jerked as Daryl suddenly walked past her, makeshift cross in one hand and a heavy slug of wood in the other. The man was damn near silent when he wanted to be. He drove the cross into the head of Merle's grave with steady blows from the chunk of wood, the noise increasing the agitation of the few walkers outside the fence.

'Merle a christian?' Asha asked.

'Nope.' He tossed the chunk of wood away and sank to the ground next to Asha.

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the cross.

'Thanks.' Daryl said eventually.

Asha nodded. 'Didn't want to leave him out there, you know?'

Daryl nodded in return. 'That too.'

Asha's brow furrowed at him a little. What else was he thanking her for?

He saw her looking and shrugged. 'Don't think Merle ever thought anyone would care when he was gone. Hell, if he wasn't my brother I'm not sure I would. Man could be a real asshole.'

Asha gave broken, tiny little laugh.

_Wasn't that the truth._

Daryl ran his fingertips through the spindly grass that filled the yard. 'Ya cared. Enough to try to make things easier for him before, and enough to tear Rick a new one after he was gone.' His blue eyes, dark in the fading light, met hers. 'Means a lot.'

She held his eyes, feeling...she wasn't sure what. 'How you holding up?' She asked eventually.

His eyes were hooded as he turned back to the grave. 'Merle... he thought he looked out for me as a kid. Thought he protected me from the old man. But really, most of my memories are of him leavin' me—or getting me into trouble and then leavin' me… Don't know why this would be any different.'

_Because it's permanent._ But Asha thought better of saying that. 'Cause it's your brother,' she said sadly.

She reached out and took Daryl's hand, lacing her fingers through his, ignoring the shiver of tension she felt go through him.

His shoulders hunched and his jaw rippled as he clenched it. 'Just...never thought he'd go before me. Was the toughest bastard I ever met.'

She squeezed his hand. 'Your brother wasn't a bad guy Daryl. I mean, he definitely could be an asshole, but I think he was just a bit lost...' She sighed. 'He helped me as much as I helped him. I wish he'd known that...I wish...' Her voice broke. 'I wish our last words hadn't been a fight.'

Daryl grunted. 'Ya gave him the time of day—without wanting something back in return. That's more than anyone's done for Merle in while...a long while. He knew that.'

'Your brother was gonna help me find my brother,' Asha said quietly.

'Yeah, I know.' Daryl pulled his hand away and Asha felt the loss tingle in her palm. 'But that was only 'cause ya were givin' him the time of day in the first place.'

Asha shrugged, looking back at her hands again in the dark. She remembered Merle as she had found him near the silo.

'I'm really sorry you had to find him like that Daryl.'

His face stiffened immediately.

'I… my sister had turned when we found her.' Asha hesitated, rubbing her muddy hand across her forehead as her sister's face floated into her mind, but it was hard to see her as she had been and not as she was when they had found her. She was buried in a shallow unmarked grave that Nash and Asha had dug with their bare hands. Asha wasn't even sure she could find her way back to it anymore. 'No one should have to see their family like that,' she finished sadly.

There was silence as they both stared blankly at Merle's grave.

Where'd ya learn to fight like that? Daryl asked.

Asha was grateful for the topic change.

'Nash mostly, and I've had plenty of time and plenty of dead to practice on...But my dad taught me to throw a punch when I was about 16.'

Daryl arched his brows at her.

Asha smiled sadly. 'He always said "Never start a fight, but if someone else does, you make damn sure you finish it." I think he was getting a little scared at the idea of his little girl being out in the world and not able to defend herself.' Her mouth twisted a little. 'And I have always had this knack of saying things without thinking them through—sometimes they don't go down well. He even let me practice on Nash a few times.'

Daryl's brows climbed higher. 'Ya dad encouraged ya to hit ya brother?'

Asha smiled again, wider and more genuinely this time. 'Nash is four years older than me, and even now I only come up to his shoulders, and I'm not exactly short. He was about twice my size growing up. Only way I was gonna hurt him was if he was on his knees with his hands behind his back...and probably not even then. I did get better though.

'Ya dad teach ya sister too?'

'Nah. I'm about ten years older than Renee.' Her voice softened as she spoke about her sister.

'She's my half sister technically—not that we ever thought about her that way. Dad got remarried, and she was the baby of his twilight years. He died when she was about eight or nine so he never had the chance, to teach her a lot of things really.' Asha laughed softly and fondly. 'Nash tried once. Mary, my step mother, nearly had a fit. It wasn't much use though, Ren was such a sweet thing. Didn't have an aggressive bone in her body. She tried, she tried really hard, mostly because Nash wanted her to I think, but it was like asking a bunny rabbit to take on a wolf. She was useless.' Asha closed her eyes fighting the tightness in her chest as she drew in a couple of rapid breaths. 'Do you think we could talk about something else?'

'Ya find anything in ya brother's pack?'

Asha sighed. 'Not really. Nothin' personal of Nash's anyway, not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing.'

It was Daryl's turn to shrug. Asha was grateful he didn't try to give her an answer.

'Found a couple of lighters with branding on them from a hotel in Douglasville,' she said. 'It's away from the river, but I reckon it's worth a look. Can probably get there and back in a day if I take one of the cars...and can find enough gas.'

It was thin, she knew it, and she suppressed the bitter surge in her stomach that she hadn't turned up anything more useful.

Daryl frowned. 'Rick won't let ya take one of the cars till we know where the Governor is. Might need em if we need ta make a run for it.'

She sighed. 'Yeah. Figured as much.' She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. 'Can I take your bike?'

His head jerked up. 'Hell no,' he spat.

She grimaced, but it was the answer she had been expecting.

'Can ya even ride it?' He demanded.

'Used to ride dirt bikes on my cousins' farm as a teenager. Been a while, but I reckon I'd remember most of it.'

'Dirt bikes?' He looked at her in disgust. 'Ya stay the hell away from my bike.'

'Fine.'

She went back to contemplating her hands in the dark. She would just have to wait. It would take her forever if she had to go on foot.

Daryl was watching her from the corner of his eye.

'What?'

'Thought you'd be snarling and swearing at me for keeping ya from your brother?'

She rubbed at her forehead again. 'Yeah, well... I'm tired Daryl.' She swallowed hard. 'And I'm scared. What if he's there and he's turned. I don't...' Her voice trembled. 'I don't know if I can do it again.'

He reached out, and she saw him visibly hesitate before he wrapped her dirty hand in his large calloused one. 'When it's safe to go, I'll come with you.'

Asha's shoulders shook and the ground in front of her blurred as she nodded.

Daryl squeezed her hand quickly before letting it go.

They sat in silence for a while as the darkness settled in fully around the prison, listening to the dead outside the fence, and beyond that, the sound of the woods coming alive at night.

Asha absently pressed a hand to her aching ribs.

'Ya coulda let Rick help dig,' Daryl said.

'You reckon I was too hard on him?' Now that she'd had a bit of space she was feeling increasingly awkward about the way she'd behaved after Merle's death—and Rick probably didn't deserve to have his head bitten off for trying them to help them bury Merle.

Daryl chewed his bottom lip for a moment. 'Ya gonna start cutting him some slack?'

Asha hesitated. 'I've heard all about what Rick did for the group to get you here, and I get it, I get your loyalty to him.' She tapped the side of her head with a finger. 'I get it here. I just—' she tapped her breastbone over her heart. 'I don't get it here.'

Daryl looked at her, eyes intent, listening carefully.

Asha sighed and looked along the line of graves. 'I don't think he's a bad guy—and I've got to admit he wasn't completely useless when we went into Woodbury—but he's unstable, and the call he made with Michonne?' She shook her head.

Daryl leant towards her, blue eyes intense. 'Rick needs a break, but this isn't all he is. Give him a chance, he'll show you.'

Asha looked across at Daryl, noticing how close he was. She could smell him, the mix of sweat and dirt, undercut with something that was particularly him. She breathed him in, surprised how much it comforted her.

'I hope so,' she said honestly, meeting his eyes. 'I do. But I'm not holding my breath, and until then,' she gave him a small smile. 'I'll stick to following you.'

'Pfft.' He waved her comment away with his hand, leaning away from her.

She chuckled at his obvious discomfort. 'Don't worry Dixon,' she patted his leg. 'I'll only follow you whilst you're going in the right direction.'

'Stop.'

She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet, brushing off the loose dirt. She walked around the grave and touched the cross, saying a silent farewell to Merle. She felt Daryl's eyes on her. She turned and forced a grin for him.

'Reckon I still owe Rick an apology though,' she said. 'Might as well get it over with right?'

Daryl's face was unreadable in the dark, but he inclined his head towards her in a tiny nod.

She squeezed his shoulder as she went past him, and then she went looking for Rick.


	19. Chapter 19

**[A/N: This should probably have been part of the last chapter - but I wasn't quite ready to post this when I posted Chap 18. Well, you're getting it now.]**

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><p>Asha found Rick in a quiet corner of the courtyard, sitting on the ground, arms wrapped loosely around his knees, staring up at the catwalk.<p>

'Am I interrupting?' Asha asked as she walked up.

Rick's eyes didn't move from the catwalk.

'No,' he shook his head and took a deep breath. Asha watched him scan the length of catwalk. 'No. You're not interrupting.'

Asha sat down beside him.

There was silence whilst she searched for the words.

'I owe you an apology.'

Rick looked at her in surprise. 'That is not what I was expecting you to say.'

Asha bristled immediately. 'What, you don't think I know enough to realise when I'm wrong?'

Rick arched both eyebrows at her.

_Shit._

She scrubbed the heel of her palm across her forehead. 'I come over here to apologise for one fight and I near end up in another. This is an awesome dynamic we've got going here Officer Friendly.'

'Don't call me that.'

_Right, Merle called him that. _

She looked across at him. His eyes were tracking across the catwalk again.

'I was outta line, after Merle, and this afternoon too when you tried to help I guess.'

Rick met her eyes, before Asha turned away, looking up at the night sky.

'He was my friend and I was pissed that he was dead.' She swallowed the lump in her throat. 'And I was...pissed, that you would give up Michonne. Because if you were willing to give her up, you'd easily give me up.'

She glanced at Rick. His jaw had tightened, but she didn't need him to confirm or deny that. She looked back at the stars spattering the night sky. 'But I've got no right to criticise anyone else's moral compass. Don't know that anyone does these days.'

Rick was looking at her, but he stayed silent.

'I don't take back what I said about being unwilling to stay here and second guess your decisions, but if you're only one voice in many, I don't see why we can't figure out some sort of middle ground.'

She left it hanging whilst Rick stared across the courtyard. After a long moment he looked across at her.

'You weren't that outta line,' he said quietly. 'And you proved at Woodbury that you are capable of thinking clearly about things—at least when it doesn't involve your brother.' Then he gave her a tiny, weary smile. 'It's possible that you haven't been seeing me at my best.'

Asha forced a grin. 'Rick Grimes, that is the first hint of a sense of humour that I've seen from you. maybe you aren't a lost cause after all.'

He forced a half laugh, before slumping back over his knees. His eyes immediately returned to the catwalk.

'Do you see her?' Asha asked softly.

Rick shook his head. 'Not since we brought back the people from Woodbury... Is it bad that I miss her more now? Feels like she's really gone.'

'Nah.'

'Still reckon it was a mistake to bring them back?'

Asha took a long breath. 'In this particular case, no, I don't think it was a mistake. But I'm not gonna pretend it doesn't scare the absolute shit outta me just letting people in like that. There's gotta be a system Rick. We can't do that in future. It's asking for trouble.'

'What, we oughta lock them in the cells until we don't think they're a threat anymore?'

'There are stupider systems,' she said seriously. 'And I don't object to the fact that you locked me in a cell.'

Rick looked at her incredulously.

'Yeah I was pissed at the time—but mostly because you were stopping me look for Nash. And I didn't appreciate being bait for Merle.' She paused to give him a hard look. 'But if I'd been asking you to take me in, I wouldn't have objected to there being certain restrictions on my freedom until you were satisfied that I wasn't a danger.'

Rick narrowed his eyes at her. 'What happened with your last group?'

Asha sighed. She didn't want to get into this, especially not now when she was so damn drained after the last few days, but it was important—and much as she might talk about Rick's voice being one of many in their fledgling new democracy, there was no doubt that it was the loudest, and probably would for a while.

'You said before that you let the wrong people in.' Rick pressed. 'And then they let worse people in?'

'Yeah.' She wiped both hands down her face and past her mouth. 'It was a mother and her daughter. They were half starved, so scared. So grateful to be taken in.' She shook her head. 'You would never have thought they were any sort of threat. The little girl, she would only have been ten or so, barely spoke a word, and the mother spent the whole time jumping at her own shadow. We weren't stupid. We watched them for a few days, but there didn't seem to be any real threat. And if they were a bit more skittish than most people we took in, well we just chalked it up to them having been on their own for a while. Honestly, we were just amazed they'd survived.'

She paused, and Rick waited. Her voice sounded dead in her own ears when she spoke.

'One night, about a week or so after they arrived, they lit a fire in one of our storage sheds. Drew most of our people in to put it out. But they'd also slit the throats of the two of our people that remained on watch. By the time we realised what had happened it was too late. Their people had swarmed us. Men only, the worst kind. The kind that were only too happy to throw off whatever restraints the world used to have over them.'

She ground her teeth together, lip lifting in a snarl. 'And they smiled. That woman and her daughter, whilst those men swarmed us, locked us up. They smiled.'

Her hands were shaking and she clenched and stretched them reflexively, but her voice was rock steady. 'I'd like to think it was just the mother—if they even were mother and daughter—that did it all, that set the fire and killed the people on watch, but she couldn't be in both places at once. That little girl played her part.'

Rick was watching her carefully. 'What happened?'

She leant away from Rick and spat on the ground. 'They didn't kill us all to start with, kept most of us locked up.' She shivered with the memory. 'We got out, fought back.'

She shrugged off the rest of his enquiry. She really didn't want to get into that.

'Why didn't you stay there, with your group? After I mean?'

'Some of them got away.' She swallowed and wiped both her hands down her face again. 'They had our sister. Nash and I went after them. Took us a while to catch them. After...after, I just didn't want to go back there. Neither did Nash.'

'I get it,' Rick said. 'We gotta be careful, get a system in place.'

Asha watched her hands still clenching and flexing of their own accord for a moment, then she forced them to be still, balling them tightly into fists. 'You gotta be so much more than careful Rick,' she whispered. 'Honestly, mandatory cell time's not such a bad idea.'

Rick pushed himself to his feet. 'Hershel and Carol, they've been talking to Sasha and Karen about forming some sort of council, make decisions for the group. They need to know about this.'

Asha nodded. 'You tell them. That's why I told you.'

He nodded, and started towards the cell block. He stopped before he was half way there and turned back.

'Hey Asha, where was this old camp of yours?'

Asha shrugged. 'To the south somewhere, in Georgia still. Dunno if it really had a name before. It was just the spot where a whole bunch of train lines converged. We called it Terminus.'

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><p><strong>[AN: Yep, Asha and Nash are from Terminus.]**


	20. Chapter 20

**[A/N: So, the spin on this story has morphed a little from where I originally planned. Basically, everything up til now should be considered "Part I: Merle", and everything from here on in should be considered "Part II: Daryl". (Actually, I'm going to go back and label chapter one accordingly).****] **

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><p><strong>Part II: Daryl<strong>

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

The shack slumped half concealed in the trees, its sloping timbers and cracked frame evidence of neglect that long predated the end of the world. The afternoon sun pierced through overgrown branches that seemed to claw the building back into the woods, casting sharp shadows on the sagging porch.

It wasn't the place he'd grown up, but it was the same. He could see it in the empty bottles and rubbish trapped in the overgrown grass and taste it in the sourness in the air. His lip lifted in a snarl.

He could almost hear the old man's voice raging from the darkness through the open door.

There was a soft voice behind him. 'It doesn't make you who you are.'

Daryl's head snapped around and he saw Asha, her eyes hooded and a smear of dirt across one check. Spear gun held loose in one hand, she pulled her long blonde braid over her shoulder as she came to stand beside him, eyes tracking across the slipshod building.

'What?' He couldn't help the snarl in his voice.

'Your past. It isn't the whole story. I mean, it's definitely part of the picture, but it's not everything.'

Daryl looked at her, eyes narrowing defensively. She was tall enough to meet him eye to eye.

She reached out and rested her hand on his arm. Daryl's skin tingled under her fingers—even through his flannel shirt—and he suddenly wondered when he'd stopped flinching at her touch.

Her voice was sad as she continued. 'We are what we are, and some times that includes things that aren't so good…'

He stiffened. He didn't need her damn pity, but when he looked at her, her blue eyes were clear and calm.

'But we chose what we do with it. You're more than just this Daryl, and I reckon you've been making that choice every day I've known you.'

His chest and the muscles across his back suddenly felt tight. He wanted to step away from her, but her eyes held him, then she gave a small smile and he felt some of his tension drain away.

The corner of her mouth suddenly quirked and she let go of his arm, looking back towards the shack.

'What?' Daryl asked.

'Had a similar conversation with your brother.'

His eyes flashed to her in shock.

_Damn Merle and his big fucking mouth._

'What d'he tell ya?'

'Nothing specific about this.' Asha waved her hand in the direction of the shack. 'Though I did get the impression that your dad was kinda a dick.'

Her brow creased and she rubbed tiredly at her forehead with the heel of her palm. 'We were talking about the things he did for the Governor I think. Point still stands though.'

Daryl felt his mouth twist sourly as he looked back at the dilapidated structure melting into the trees in the lengthening shadows.

_It ain't everything…_

He absently heard a set of footsteps in the dry leaf litter and then Michonne appeared in the corner of his eye on the other side of Asha.

'What d'ya reckon,' Michonne said. 'Camp here for the night?'

Daryl ground his teeth together, and he felt Asha glance at him.

'Nah,' she said. 'Not here.'

Daryl felt the pause, before Michonne grunted.

'Fine, let's keep moving.'

The two women moved away, but he watched the darkening shack for a moment longer before spitting into the long grass and turning to follow them.

They set up camp another hour or so into the woods, leaving them just enough time to spread out their walker traps—long cord with bits of metal and can that rattled together when walkers stumbled into them—and collect some firewood before the light finally faded altogether.

Daryl exhaled, noting the way his breath fogged in the air, and crouched down next to the slender blonde woman poking at their small fire with a stick. The flames crackled and danced, licking upwards around the squirrel speared above it. It smelt like it was done, so Daryl pulled it out, letting the meat cool for a minute, before splitting it down the middle. Michonne—on watch outside the circle of fire light so her night vision wasn't affected—had elected to take the last can of peaches, leaving him and Asha to split the squirrel.

He held out half the meat to Asha, who was staring blankly into the fire. Daryl watched the flame light glowing golden across her profile for a moment, then nudged her in the knee with the meat.

They ate in silence, enjoying the warmth radiating into the thin air from the fire. The meat was gone too quickly, and from the corner of his eye he watched Asha lick the juices off her long fingers and hold them out the heat.

'Ya get any closer and you'll be in the fire,' Daryl said dryly.

'Bite me Daryl.' She smiled, her eyes catching the firelight.

'Gonna have to put that out soon,' he said reluctantly.

They had dug the fire into a hole to hide the flames. They hadn't seen anybody new for a while now, but you never knew who was around and the light of even a small fire could travel a fair distance at night. Wouldn't pay to leave it burning longer than they had to.

'I know,' Asha nodded, but she shuffled somehow closer to the fire. 'You know, when we started looking for the Governor, somehow I didn't think we'd still be out here come winter.'

Daryl grunted. He snapped the squirrel bone he'd been sucking and tossed it into the flames.

He hadn't thought they'd still be out here come winter either, but the Governor had proved more elusive to track then he'd wanted. They'd found and lost his trail—or what they thought was his trail—a handful of times. Daryl suspected the bastard had managed to get hold of car once or twice. He grimaced, they'd been nearly ten days out this time and they still hadn't managed to pick up the trail from where they'd last lost it.

Much as he wanted to put a bolt through the bastard's head he was slowly starting to realise it might not happen. If the Governor had any sense he'd left the damn state and would keep on running.

He felt Asha's eyes on him and realised his lips had twisted back into a snarl.

'Stop thinking about it,' she said. Then she sighed, wrapped her arms around herself and turned away to her blankets.

Daryl kicked dirt over the flames and crawled under his own blankets.

As soon as he closed his eyes he saw the shack in his mind. Not the one they'd passed this afternoon, but one that was near identical—but this time he heard the old man roaring beyond the broken door. His eyes flew open and he lay there, breathing hard for a moment, until the familiar sounds of the woods at night wiped out the echo of his father's voice.

_It ain't everything…_

_Maybe not...but it sure as shit felt like a fucking lot sometimes._

He looked over at the dark pile of blankets and the paler patch of blond hair spilling from the end.

Her voice murmured in his mind, _you're more than just this Daryl…_

Well, Merle had said she wasn't judgmental.

There was a tightness in his chest. Still hurt to think about his brother, hurt that he was gone—but it helped a little to know that towards the end someone had seen past all of Merle's crap and shit and had believed he was worth something.

His eyes fell back on the pale strip of blonde hair. He owed that scrawny blonde woman more than she'd ever realise for giving his brother that.

Still, he couldn't help wonder just how close Asha and his brother had gotten before the end...

He could tell she wasn't asleep. Every now and then a visible tremor ran across the blankets as she shivered violently.

'Damn woman, how can ya always be so cold? Winter ain't even set in yet.'

He hadn't realised he said spoken aloud until Asha's eyes slit open.

She started muttering under her breath and then she scrambled out of her blankets and gathered them into her arms.

Daryls' brow creased in confusion as she came over and glowered down at him.

'Well, move over.'

His mouth opened but couldn't think of the words, suddenly very aware of the blood rushing in his ears.

She nudged him with roughly with her foot.

'Come on, I'm fucking freezing.'

He could hear her teeth chattering.

In the absence of a better idea he moved over, awkwardly lifting the corner of his blanket so she could crawl underneath. He could feel her shivering as she sat down quickly next to him and spread her blankets out over them both.

She paused and arched a brow at him.

'Don't go reading too much into this sunshine, I fully intend to spoon with Michonne when you go on watch.'

Daryl grunted, but some of the tension he hadn't realised he was carrying went out of his shoulders.

She slid further under the blankets and curled in towards his chest, tucking her head under his chin, and pulling the blanket up around her ears.

He lay there perfectly still and perfectly awkwardly for a moment. Her body shook and felt like ice. She mumbled something into his chest, and he was relieved to feel that her breath at least was warm.

'What?' he asked, pulling his head back a little to look down at her.

'This would work a lot better if you put your arm around me,' she muttered. 'Least until I warm up.'

'Oh. Right.'

He had to admit it was more comfortable once he'd slid one arm under her neck and settled the other around her back.

'Ya remember ya asked to take my bike?' he asked quietly.

Asha snorted softly. 'I remember getting shut down pretty quickly on that front.'

'Pretty sure ya compared my chopper to a dirt bike.'

'Not exactly the way I remember it.'

'Ya still wanna learn to ride it?'

Asha's squirmed backwards and her eyes flashed to him.

'Yeah. Really? Hell yes.' She grinned. 'Why the change of heart? You've pretty much made an art form of threatening me to stay away from it since then.'

He guessed he kind of had. He genuinely hadn't wanted her—or anyone else—near the bike. It was all he had left of Merle and he wasn't willing to share. Though he had to admit, Merle probably would have been ok with Asha on his bike. He suddenly remembered an old calendar Merle had, featuring a different scantily clad woman draped over a different bike each month. Merle had kept the bloody thing for ten years or so past its actual date—and spent far too much time in the bathroom with the damn thing. Merle probably would have gotten a kick out of seeing Asha on his bike—she was pretty enough to give any of those jumped up tarts a run for their money—of course Merle would have wanted her to be wearing as little as possible...

_Christ_.

Daryl dragged his mind away from there, suddenly becoming painfully aware of Asha's trembling body pressed up against him. He struggled for a moment trying to recall where the conversation was up to.

'Might come in handy some day,' he finally deadpanned.

She smiled as if she knew that wasn't the real reason.

He moved his arm and poked the pack she had pillowed under her head—Nash's pack.

'Sorry it didn't lead anywhere.'

Asha sighed, shrinking in on herself.

'I know,' she mumbled into his chest. 'Always knew it was gonna be a long shot.'

She'd nagged him for weeks after the Governor had vanished, until eventually he'd given in and taken her out to Douglasville on the bike. With the Governor still unaccounted for, Rick was still refusing to let her take one of the cars—and Daryl had figured it was worth taking the bike just to get her off his back.

Damn woman could be a persistent pest when she wanted to be.

It had been a total bust.

When they'd set out, Asha had been near bouncing with nervous excitement, convinced they were going to find a sign from her brother, either in Douglasville or one of the towns they'd passed on the way—and she'd made them stop and search every damn town they'd passed through.

She'd plastered them with her own signs of course, but it had been like watching the life drain out of her when they came up empty handed each time. Her shoulders had gradually folded in on herself and by the time they'd turned back to the prison, her face had been dead eyed and bleak lined. She'd spent the next two days laying in her cell in silence, waving off the attempts of the group to speak to her.

Daryl realised his arms had tightened around her at the memory and he forced them to relax.

They hadn't found Nash turned. That had been something, but she'd just looked at him flat eyed when he'd said as much.

'Did I ever thank you for coming with me?' she asked quietly.

'Way I remember it ya didn't give me much choice.'

'Could have gone myself if you'd let me take the bike.'

He snorted.

'Well, in case I didn't say it before, thank you.' Her face was still turned towards his chest. 'You didn't have to come with me because of Merle you know.'

His brow creased.

''S not why I did it.'

He was silent for a moment. There was several ways he could put it, but underneath it all, there was a very simple reason.

'Just didn't like the idea of ya being out here alone,' he eventually murmured into her hair.

Asha curled in closer to him, until her forehead was pressed against his chest.

He kept his arms around her whilst she stopped shivering and her body eventually relaxed into sleep.

Then he closed his eyes and tried hard to think about anything other than how good she felt nestled up against him.

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: So, what did you think about getting in Daryl's head?**

**Also, just to clarify, the bulk of Part II is still going to be Asha's POV (although I think there may be the occasional Daryl chapter). This wasn't originally from Daryl's point of view either, b****ut I think it kinda works here as this is really a linking chapter to cover the jump in time between the end of Part I and where Part II really picks up with the next chapter (hence the 'Prologue' heading).]**


	21. Chapter 21

**[A/N: So this is up a little later than my usual schedule. Couldn't get into my fanfiction account for the last couple of days, some sort of server issue. But this is the longest chapter I've posted, so it's probably a fair trade off.]**

* * *

><p>It can't end like this.<p>

Asha choked, lungs burning, breath hard and frantic. Elbow jammed hard against the throat of the deadhead pinning her to the ground, she tried to force back the teeth snapping in her face. Her right arm, with her spear gun in hand, was twisted beneath her where she had fallen awkwardly.

There were other walkers, she could hear them moving through the trees and her nose was full of the stink of them.

Her blood thumped in her ears. She had to get this one off her fast.

Teeth bared, she forced up through her shoulders against the walker's weight and dug hard with her arm—grimacing as her elbow sank into the soft flesh of its throat and then sobbing with relief as she as she jerked sharply to the left, rolling the walker away from her and spraying ragged chunks of its throat across the grass. Right arm finally free, she swung her spear through its skull and scrambled to her feet.

Too close.

Now for god's sake don't fall again.

She forced herself to a shambling run, the closest to a sprint she could manage, following a gentle curve around to the right which would, hopefully, let her outdistance the walkers and double back to Michonne.

They had been searching a little town, Michonne leading both their horses because, well, Asha didn't like horses and the horses seemed to return the feeling. One of the stupid beasts had got its foot caught in a tangle of wire and rubbish which had collected between some of the abandoned cars on the empty main street. Its panicked snorting and stomping had been enough to draw a hand full of the dead out of their semi comatose states nearby. Between the horses, Michonne had her hands full, so Asha had created a racket, yelling and banging on a bin lid, to draw as many away as possible, shouting to Michonne that she'd double back around to the south.

Not all of the dead had followed of course, but at least it gave Michonne a fighting chance of holding on to the horses.

Asha swerved through the trees, avoiding walkers where she could and taking down those she couldn't avoid as quickly as possible—thankfully managing to keep her feet this time.

Eventually the moans of the dead thinned out. She turned more sharply to her right, settling into a more sustainable jog, and eventually stumbling on to the little road they had entered the town by earlier that morning. It was late spring, or maybe early summer, and the black tarmac was radiating heat in the midday sun. She settled back to a walk, heart rate dropping. Eyes alert along the tree lined road, she strode back towards the town.

Within a few minutes, she was relieved to see Michonne heading towards her, riding one horse and with the reins of the second held loosely in her hand. Both animals seemed to be walking alright to Asha figured no permanent damage had been done to the stupid creature's leg.

'You alright?' Michonne asked as she reached her.

Asha shrugged. She skirted carefully along the side of the beast she had to ride. A nasty piece of work that the children at the prison had incongruously named Buttercup. She pulled a water bottle from the saddlebag and took a long swig.

'Oh, you know, nearly died, but what's new about that? Is it depressing how fucking normal all of this is becoming?'

Michonne's eyes tightened. 'What happened?'

'Tripped and fell, walker got closer then it should have.' She shook her head disgustedly. 'So stupid.'

She looked back down the road towards the town. It was one of those small rural towns in Georgia, that had shared a certain sense of sameness with the next even before the turn. Now they were all virtually indistinguishable, with a depressing uniformity born of shattered windows, refuse and silence where there should have been the sounds of people— of life.

They were about a day and a half on horseback from the prison, searching for the Governor. At Asha's best guess it had been about six or seven months since the assault on the prison. Daryl had been with them in the beginning, grimly determined to find his brother's killer—back when they'd actually had a trail to follow. But even before winter had set in properly, the trail had gone cold and they been forced to had to venture further and further from the prison for longer periods of time. Eventually the bitter weather had forced them to give up the search entirely for a while, and when the weather warmed, Daryl had refused to come back out with them. Said his time was better spent hunting and on supply runs than in a blind search for a dead man.

Asha missed him, more than she had expected to, and definitely more than she should.

The sensible thing would have been to follow Daryl's lead. You could hardly call what she and Michonne were doing 'tracking'. Without Daryl, and with the trail cold anyway, they were really operating on logic and intuition as they kept expanding the search in loops around the prison. It would be dumb luck as much as anything if they found any sign of the Governor.

Every time they returned to the prison, Asha expected Michonne to suggest that they let it go—but so far, within a couple of days of being back each time, Michonne had sought her out with a new plan of where they should check next. And whilst ever Michonne was willing to traipse the countryside, Asha was happy for the company. She'd be doing it anyway. She wanted to find the Governor, she believed with every part of her that they would be safer with him in the ground—but her primary motivation had always been searching for Nash.

Asha wiped her hand across the back of her mouth and screwed the lid back on the water bottle.

'What d'ya reckon?' she asked. 'Exhausted the possibilities of this backwater?'

'And then some.'

Michonne got down from her horse, pulled out a tattered map and spread it over her saddle.

'Still got a couple of hours of light left. Push on?'

Asha came over and looked at the faded lines on the map. She jabbed at a point with her forefinger.

'Yeah. I reckon we can make it to that farmhouse with the apple tree for the night. That'll put us in easy reach of the prison tomorrow.'

'Hmmm, easy… even with the way you ride.' The corner of Michonne's mouth lifted in a smirk.

Asha looked at their horses with distaste. 'Fucking horses. I hate horses. If you weren't so insistent on goin' cross country all the time we could take one of the cars.'

'Better to conserve the fuel.'

'What about conserving my ass? Feels like its been pounded into a pancake this last week.'

Still Asha couldn't help smiling. They had been away a good week this time, and it would be good to get back. Although they spent more time away from the prison than at it these days, knowing it was there and they could go back made all the difference. Asha was thoroughly looking forward to sleeping through the night and seeing the group. Daryl's face leapt into her mind and she quickly bit down on her bottom lip.

She flicked open the saddlebag, checking the crossbow bolts she'd found were still inside, and then breathed a sigh of relief as she poked them aside and saw her other gift for Daryl still tucked safely beneath them.

Michonne was watching her.

'What?'

'Nothing.' The dark skinned woman bit down on the corner of a smile.

'Damn right nothing,' Asha snapped.

'Yep, there is a whole lotta nothin' in the way you watch him when he's not looking.'

Asha felt her face heating.

'It's not like that,' she said, and then immediately regretted it. Dammit, why did she even feel the need to defend herself? There was nothing going on. Hell, if anything he'd been keeping his distance since that night she'd crawled under his blankets for warmth. She should have known that was going to freak his shit out. Not that she'd been thinking that then of course. At the time she'd just been cold.

She refused to be sorry about it though. Apart from anything else, she'd slept better in his arms then she had in ages.

And if she hadn't been able to get him out of her mind since then, well, that was her problem, especially since he'd never given her any indication he cared about her any more than he cared about any of their group.

Maybe it had just been a hell of a long time since she'd been laid.

She gave the buckle closing the saddle bag a hard yank. Then she arched both her brows at her companion. 'You think I didn't see you picking up that straight razor for Rick a couple of towns ago?'

Michonne grimaced slightly and coughed awkwardly, then opened her eyes wide and innocently at Asha. 'So what? You've seen him. His face is losing the war.'

'Uh huh. Yes it is.' She put a booted foot in her stirrup. 'But that hasn't made me, or anyone else, feel the need to bring him home a razor.'

Michonne laughed. 'Well, if Daryl's anything to go by, you like your men a little scruffy.'

Asha grinned and shrugged. Couldn't argue with that. She swung up into her saddle, wincing a little as she settled into the saddle. She hadn't been exaggerating about her ass.

'Oh I'm not judging,' she said still grinning. 'Rick's gonna carry that grief around with him forever unless you make him let it go.'

Michonne glared at her.

'Shut up.'

The dread locked woman swung up in to her own saddle. She looked back towards the town.

'Go back through town or cut around?'

'Around,' Asha grunted, accepting the obvious topic change. 'Place has been cleaned out.'

She shaded her eyes and looked around. There looked to be a treeline following a gully off to the left, which would keep them out of the woods she'd just stirred up the walkers in.

'Looks to be a creek down that way. Be good to top up the water supplies.'

'Lets do it.'

Michonne led them off the road towards the gully. There was a large sign on the side of the road reading 'Welcome to Fairburn.' The paintwork was faded and peeling in the corners.

'Hold up,' Asha called. She nudged Buttercup gently towards the sign and then carefully looped the reigns around the saddle bow as the horse began grazing on the overgrown grass around the base of the signpost.

She pulled a can of spray paint from her pack, the agitator rattling as she gave it a good shake. Buttercup looked up at the sudden 'kssst' of expelled paint, but quickly went back to munching on the grass. Asha took advantage of the having the whole sign to work with and plastered it with big bold markings. In bright pink paint, there was no way anyone who came through was going to miss it.

'So how does this code of yours work?' Michonne asked behind her.

She'd drawn a large cross, like a plus sign, and was filling in detail in each of the quadrants. She answered as she sprayed. 'One quadrant has the date—as much of a date as we can manage these days.' In the top left she'd sprayed a '2' followed by 'sp'. 'Second spring after the turn,' she explained. 'Diagonally opposite the date we put either a random number or a random direction—north south west etc. In the other two quadrants we put the direction we're going in one, and then opposite it, the distance to camp, if we have one, or a dash, if we're on the road and don't know how far we're going.'

'What's with the random number or direction?'

Asha shrugged. 'It's just meant to confuse anyone trying to figure out the code.'

'Clever,' Michonne said. 'A little over the top maybe, but clever.'

Asha laughed. 'Yeah, it's not exactly shorthand, but we were a bit paranoid when we came up with it.'

'After your sister?'

'Hmmm.' Asha was glad when Michonne didn't push for details. Michonne was good like that.

Asha leant back and surveyed her work. It was offensively pink. She felt a strong need to squint.

'Well, he's not going to miss that one.' Michonne said. 'It practically glows.'

Michonne was also good at not pointing out that they hadn't seen any sign of Nash in the months they'd been searching. But to be fair, Asha thought wryly, she didn't make a big point of the fact that they hadn't seen signs of the Governor in a long time either.

Just a pair of addicts enabling each other.

* * *

><p>The sun was low in the afternoon sky when they arrived back at the prison the following day. A warm breeze rustled through the knee high grass as they rode the horses out of the woods.<p>

The prison had changed since the first time Asha had seen it. The front gate had been replaced by two heavy metal doors scavenged from a garage. Hooked to a pulley system, they meet in a V pointing back down the main road and were surrounded by a ring of sharpened wooden stakes. Anyone trying to charge the gates with a vehicle would find the going a hell of a lot harder this time.

It warmed Asha's heart to see it. She only wished the rest of the fences were in as good a condition. As they crossed the bridge over the canal she could see the sag in the outer of the double line of fences, stretching away from the gate on either side. They hadn't been designed to stand up to constant pressure, and the never ending presence of the dead pushing against them was starting to tell—even though the upright poles of the fence had been reinforced with wooden logs braced behind them.

They nudged the horses to a trot as the gates started to open. Asha could make out Carl working the pulley system near the inside fence. She swore the boy had doubled in size since she'd first met him. His father's sheriff hat was pulled down over his eyes but he was grinning at both of them as they rode into the yard.

'You're back!'

'We're back.'

Asha swung down wearily from the saddle, wincing as she did so.

'Still haven't learnt to ride properly Asha,' Carl teased.

She nudged him in playfully in the shoulder. 'Can't be good at everything I guess. Where's ya dad?'

Carl waved generally in the direction of the slipshod shed that had sprung up in the middle of the yard. 'Feedin' the pigs I think.'

Asha nodded and headed in that direction.

'Ya bring me anything?' Carl asked Michonne excitedly behind her. Michonne laughed, and Asha heard her digging around in her bag. She knew the black woman went out of her way to bring home comics for the boy. That reminded her of her own finds on their last trip, and she felt a warm glow of anticipation start in her stomach.

Rick was covered to the knees in mud, and he had a smear of mud through the fairly impressive beard he was cultivating. He slipped around the pig sty, scooting the occasional half grown pig out of the way with a boot. Last winter, they'd managed to round up a handful of pigs—feral or escaped from a farm after the turn—and in spring one of the sows had had litter of piglets. Rick wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, looked up and saw Asha leaning against the fence of the sty.

'Hello farmer Rick.'

'Hello wandering woman.'

Rick's eyes darted around behind her. 'Michonne?'

'She's with Carl. How goes the growing of things?'

Rick smiled, a slow genuine smile that made his face glow as it spread across his face.

'It's good. Real good. Come see.'

Asha smiled in response.

He climbed out of the sty and headed across to the neat rows of vegetables planted out across the yard. He pointed proudly at the new plantings and growth since Asha had been there last, but Asha noticed his eyes went first to the gate to see for himself that Michonne was there.

It had taken her by surprise mid winter when she'd realised she didn't harbour any antagonism towards Rick. He'd stepped away from any control of the group after the addition of the Woodbury people, leaving things to their newly appointed council. And he'd taken up farming.

Asha found herself shaking her head wryly as she followed him across the yard, digging around in the saddle bag as she went. It had seemed strange at first, but now she had to admit it suited him. He was relaxed, he was friendly. He laughed. Asha genuinely hoped from him that he'd been able to—if not put his demons to rest—at least get them somewhere he could manage them. Now that he wasn't holding the groups' lives in his hand, she found her wariness around him had been replaced with an easy camaraderie.

'Here,' she said, when he finally paused. She held out her hand with several packets of seed in them, vegetables for the most part, but a handful of herbs as well. Rick took them greedily. 'Went through a hardware store whilst we out.' She shrugged. 'Dunno if they're still any good, but worth a try right?'

Rick was shuffling quickly through the packets.

'Definitely.' He held out a packet grinning, 'Pumpkin, damn, we haven't had any of this til now.'

Asha found herself grinning back. 'No problem. Is Daryl around?' she asked casually.

The corner of Rick's mouth quirked and he nodded.

'Got back from a hunt a few days ago—bought a dear back the clever bastard. Been keepin' us going most of the week.' The quirk at the corner of Rick's mouth turned into a grin. 'Hasn't gone back out again yet. Judging from the way he's been snapping everyone's head off the last couple of days, I'd say he's been waiting for you to get back.'

Asha ignored the heat spreading up her neck—hoping to god it wasn't noticeable.

'Yeah. He'll be happy he doesn't have to come out lookin' for us.'

* * *

><p>'Carol! Hey!'<p>

Asha caught up to the silvery haired woman as she laboured under a large bucket of water headed towards cell block C.

'Asha!' Carol turned with a warm smile, put down the bucket and greeted her with a hug. 'You're back,' she leant back to look her in the eye. 'In one piece, too.'

'Yep.' She matched Carol's smile. In the six or so months she'd gotten to know Carol she'd developed a lot of respect for the woman. She was resourceful, tough—and she worked so hard for the people in the prison. Asha respected that.

They could almost be friends...

'How's it been here?'

'Oh yeah, holding down the fort. Got a few more new ones in the last week, a father and his son.' Carol smiled. 'Still amazes me that there's people surviving on their own out there.'

Asha squeezed her arm as she stepped away from her. 'We can't be the only ones. What were their answers?'

Carol counted them off on her fingers. One. 'Who the hell keeps count these days.' Two. 'Three..for the father, one for the son.' Three. 'Two of them attacked them, and then, at some other time, they found the other two trying to steal from them and had to fight for what was theirs.'

Asha three questions were a testing ground for new arrivals—how many walkers have you killed, how many people have you killed, and—most importantly—why?

It was always a variation on the same answers though—everyone had killed walkers, and almost everyone had killed people—those who had been out there on their own certainly had, and each group out there had at least one person who'd killed someone. Always for some version of self defence, of course.

Asha didn't rate the three questions as a gateway. But it was what the Council had come up with, and Council business was Council business as far as Asha was concerned.

To her knowledge, she was the only person who had admitted to hunting anyone down with the purpose of killing them.

Carol shrugged in response. 'I know you'd like us to be harsher on new arrivals Asha, but the Council is happy how this is working out.'

Asha picked up the bucket and started toward the cell block. 'I know Carol,' whatever you guys think is fine by me.'

Carol was on the Council after all.

'Hey, you seen Daryl?' Carol missed a step and Asha watched out of the corner of her eye as Carol's face closed over.

'Hmmm, he's around here somewhere. Reckon he's due to go out on another hunt soon.'

Carol reached out and took the bucket back from Asha. 'I'll see you around.'

Asha watched her walk into the cell block.

They could almost be friends if it wasn't for that.

* * *

><p>Asha looked across the group of people gathered in the prison courtyard. She had a good view from where she sat cross legged on the catwalk. There must have been fifty odd people—when the hell had they let so many in? Most of them were still strangers to her, given the time she spent away from the prison these days. They milled around in the settling evening light. A couple of hurricane lamps had been lit, but edging into summer the twilight seemed to be endless and they were barely needed.<p>

The smell of grilled deer wafted up on the warm air and Asha's mouth watered. Her eye's tracked across the group, searching for a rangy build and a head of shaggy dark hair. Beth was there, humming to herself as she bounced Judith on her hip, Rick wiggling his fingers in his daughter's face and smiling as she giggled. Tyrese and Sasha were handing out plates of food, whilst Carol stirred the huge pot on the grill—finding several full tanks of gas last fall had been a real godsend. Michonne, Carl and Hershel were sitting at one of the tables, laughing over one of the comics Michonne had brought back.

It was a matter of convenience that they all ate together, but Asha couldn't help but be reminded of the camping trips she'd taken as a child—where everyone would gather at the end of the day to use the communal fire pit or grill and share a drink. She smiled at the feeling of warmth spreading through her chest at seeing them together. It wasn't quite enough to blot out the hollow feeling at Nash's absence, or even the twinge of sadness she felt when she pictured Merle trying to awkwardly fit into the scene below, but it was something.

Her eyes kept moving, but even as she looked for him, she knew he wouldn't be down there. Too many people. She smiled to herself. He might feed them and protect them, but he wouldn't hang around to socialise.

There was a faint sound to her left. As if her thoughts as summoned him he emerged slowly from the open doorway at the end of the walk. Eyes hooded in the half light, and arms bare—as always—in his leather vest, he had a plate of food in each hand.

Asha tried to ignore her quickening pulse.

He didn't say anything as he came towards her on silent feet, just folded himself down cross legged next to her—close but not touching—and handed her a plate. He held her eyes for a second as he handed it over—they were unreadable, but she drank in their blueness in the fading light.

They ate in silence for a moment.

'This is good,' Asha said appreciatively after a minute. It was. Best she'd had in a long time.

She leant sideways a little and nudged gently him with a shoulder. 'Got you to thank for it of course.'

Daryl grunted. He ate a few more mouthfuls.

'Ya late. Only supposed to be gone a week, been nine days.'

Asha frowned. 'Yeah, hit a bit of weather that slowed us down, and possibly we over estimated how quick we'd be on horseback.'

'How quick you'd be ya mean. Michonne can ride.'

'Bite your tongue. If I ever learnt to ride properly this community would need to find a new running joke to keep them entertained.'

He nodded. 'That's true. Ya oughta see Zach's impression of ya falling sideways out of the saddle when ya were first learning. His eyes sparkled with mirth. 'We're all still tryin' to figure out how ya got Buttercup to throw ya off in the first place, she's the most placid docile mare I've ever seen.'

'Ha,' she said flatly. 'Ha ha.' Bloody Buttercup was a vicious brute and had nearly trampled her when that had happened. 'It wasn't that funny.'

His mouth quirked. 'It was pretty funny. And there ain't no TV anymore.'

He polished off the contents of his plate. Then he picked up the trail of their earlier line of conversation. 'Was starting to think that this time I'd actually have to come lookin' for ya.'

He would have. She knew it—just like her and Michonne would go looking for him or any of the others if they didn't come back from a run.

'You know the rule,' she said gently. 'If we plan on being gone a week, you don't even start to worry till we've been gone ten days.'

He grunted noncommitally.

She knew. The theory and the practicality were different things a lot of the time.

She finished her meal, savouring the pieces of meat and then picking up her plate and licking it to capture all the juices.

Daryl looked at her askance out of the corner of his eye, and she burst into laughter. 'What? You got a problem with my table manners?'

'Ain't I supposed to be the redneck and you've got the fancy education?'

Asha chuckled. 'Before the world ended maybe. Now you're the man that feeds us, and I am damn hungry.'

She licked the plate again for good measure, grinned at him, and then put the plate down. Daryl chewed his bottom lip at her for a moment, eyes narrowed, then dragged his tongue across his own plate to clean it before putting it down.

'There ya go!' Asha approved.

They were both finished, but Daryl didn't show any signs of moving, and Asha was content to sit while he did. They sat there in silence watching the darkness creep in.

'Ya hangin' around for a few days this time?' he said eventually.

'Think so.'

'Good. Don't make plans tomorrow.'

Asha looked at him curiously.

'Got somethin' to show ya.'

'In here or out there?'

'Out there. Might take all day.'

'Jeeze Daryl. I was really looking forward to not spending all day on the road.'

'Be worth it.'

'Do I have to ride that bloody horse?'

He grinned. 'What, Buttercup? What's she ever done to you.'

'She pounded my ass to bits all week.'

'She'd stop doing that if ya learnt to ride properly.'

'Bite me.'

They sat in companionable silence for a moment.

'We're not taking the horses right?'

'Nah, reckon poor Buttercup could do with a break after carrying you around all week. We'll take the bike.'

'Better.'

Much better. Her stomach fluttered as an image of being wrapped around Daryl's back leapt into her mind.

'It'll probably turn into a walker fest the noise that thing makes.'

'Do ya wanna ride the damn horses?'

'Hell no.'

'Haven't seen a lot around where we'll be headed. Reckon we can handle it.'

'At this point I'll take the walkers over the horse anyway. Where we going?'

'Surprise.'

Asha leant back. His profile was etched in the half light, eyes fixed on the courtyard, his chin jutting out slightly as he chewed his bottom lip. She arched an eyebrow at him.

'Surprise?'

_Since when did Daryl Dixon plan surprises?_

'Hmmm.' For an instant there was a smile tugging his lips, before he stomped on it with a serious frown. 'Just bring your spears.'

She nodded. Like she ever went out without them.

'Hey,' she said, leaning over and pulling out the plastic bag she'd been half sitting on. 'Found ya something whilst we were out.'

Daryl's eyes flashed to her as she passed it over. Asha watched him intently as he unwrapped the plastic carefully and pulled out several unopened packets of crossbow bolts. A slow smile spread across his face as he fingered them.

'They ok?' Asha asked, feeling surprisingly anxious. 'Found 'em down the back of a cabinet in a hunting store. Place was pretty much cleaned out, but these days it always pays to look under and behind stuff—amazing how much stuff people missed in the first rush for weapons.'

Daryl nodded, still shuffling through the packs of bolts.

'I didn't know which sort you needed,' Asha said, leaning over him to touch the two different types in his hand. 'So I grabbed everything I could.'

'Always grab everything,' he said. He held out one of the packs, with red fletching on the bolts. 'These are perfect,' then he held out the other type. 'These, not so much. But I can break em apart and repoint and re fletch my other bolts.' He fixed her with an intense look. 'Ya did good.'

Asha shocked herself by blushing a little at the praise. 'Well, gotta keep you in bolts so you can keep us in food right?'

'Pffft.' Daryl blew her off.

Asha swallowed hard and then reached under her leg for her other gift, feeling the soft leather between her fingers. She pressed her lips together nervously and silently held out the black leather gloves to him—watching from the corner of her eye as he put down the bolts and tentatively took them, holding them loosely in his hands as though unsure what to do with them.

_Why did it matter so much whether he liked them?_

'You remember when we went to Douglasville? she asked.

He nodded.

'Your hands froze. I distinctly remember your fingers going white and then blue, and then pretty much refusing to bend.'

He grimaced without looking away from the gloves.

She reached over and brushed the gloves in his hands, smiling wryly. 'This way, next time some irritating person pesters you into a long distance ride in the cold, that won't happen.'

He snorted softly. 'Ain't no-one pestering me into any more rides.'

But he smiled—a tiny quirk of his lips—and shifted one glove against the palm of his hand to measure the size.

It was enough.

Asha felt the tightness in her chest relax. She smiled and leant back on her hands. 'Well, now that I can ride your bike, at least you won't have to worry about it being me.'

He grunted. 'Yeah well, just cause ya know how t' ride it don't mean I'm letting ya near it.'

'Guess i'll just have to be sneaky about it then.'

He growled at her, eyes narrowed behind the dark hair falling across his face, and she laughed at the expression on his face, her laugh growing as his frown deepened.

'I missed you,' she said smiling—without thinking.

'Stop,' Daryl said, still looking at the gloves in his hands.

Asha rolled her eyes.

He pushed himself to his feet, and held out a hand. She took it, enjoying the feel of his rough palm in hers and the strength in his arm as he pulled her to her feet. For a second they stood there, hands held and close together, before Daryl let her go—and Asha found she could breath again.

She pushed her empty plate into his hand. 'Can you take this back from me?'

His brow furrowed for an instant, but he took it.

'Gotta go see your brother,' she said, answering his unasked question.

Daryl's face was suddenly very carefully blank, but he nodded. 'See ya in the mornin' then.'


	22. Chapter 22

**[A/N: Thanks reviewers, new favourites and followers! Glad you guys are enjoying this. SorrowJunky and Leyshla Gisel, you are the best. I really love getting your feedback (hint, hint everyone else). SorrowJunky, the Carol situation will definitely not be a love triangle.] **

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><p>Asha knelt near the wooden cross Daryl had pounded into the ground at the head of Merle's grave so many months ago. After leaving Daryl, she'd gone passed her cell and picked up a couple of items from her saddle bags before heading out through the darkness for the far corner of the yard.<p>

Her fingers pressed into the dark earth at the base of the cross, packing it firmly around the base of the strawberry plant she'd uprooted from one of the suburban homes she'd passed on the last trip out with Michonne. She unscrewed her water bottle and then poured a generous amount over the wilted plant. It hadn't enjoyed its time on the back of the horse—and she'd never had much of a green thumb—but she really hoped the little plant pulled through.

If not, she'd find another one.

She crawled around to the end of the grave and settled there cross legged. She wiped her dirty hands on her jeans and then pulled the second item from her back pocket. She unscrewed the cap from the bottle and inhaled the scent of southern comfort, remembering the time that Merle had come across a cold prison cell bearing the same sweet scent. It was only a hip flask, and it was already more than half gone—she'd found it like that.

She took a deep swig and then poured out a libation at the end of Merle's grave—well away from the fragile little plant she just planted. Then she drained off the last of the southo in a couple of big gulps, grimacing for an instant as the liquid burnt the back of her throat before settling into a warm pleasant glow in her belly.

She sat there in the quiet for a long moment. There were walkers beyond the fence. She could hear them, but the air was still and they couldn't smell her, so they were quiet for the most part. There was no movement in the yard around her. She knew Maggie and Glenn could see her from the guard tower where they were on watch, but she also knew they weren't paying her much attention.

She always came to see Merle after she'd been out for a while.

Eventually she spoke, whispering her words into the warm still air.

'Hey big guy. Been a while since I visited, I know. Don't be mad. Been out with Michonne. Reckon you woulda liked her eventually...respected her anyway. She wouldn't have put up with any of your shit… Still looking for the Governor... Ain't seen any sign of him for a while,' her breath hitched, 'or Nash.' She swallowed hard and rubbed at her face. 'I'm getting so scared that he's gone. Really gone. That all that's left for me is never actually knowing what's happened to him.'

She took a couple of deep breaths, glancing back towards the prison. 'There's a lot more people here now. We keep finding more, bringing them in. Should be a good thing right?' She paused then snorted softly. 'Yeah, reckon you woulda been with me on that one. Not safe.'

The faces of some of the small children they had taken in since Woodbury fell flashed in her mind and she felt ashamed.

'Shit Merle, when did I turn into such a callous bitch. They aren't all bad...they can't be.'

She looked at the faint outline of the cross in the darkness, then swiped both hands down her face past either corner of her mouth.

'Hell Merle, I hope you're not actually here listening to me, but if you are...' Her voice was so faint on the last words that they were nearly lost in the night. '...I miss you.'

She pushed herself up to her feet, head spinning just a little, and took a couple of steps back towards the cell blocks. Then she stopped, stomach fluttering and breathing deeply, before she turned, took two steps back to Merle and sank to her knees, pressing the palms of her hands into the dark earth at the end of the grave.

'Also,' she whispered, 'I may have a thing for your brother.'

She shivered at saying it out loud, but then she cocked her head. She swore she could hear Merle laughing. The sound seemed to grow as she waited.

'It's not funny,' she muttered. 'I've got no idea if he's ever even thought about me like that. And even if he has, your brother's such an emotional cripple, he'll probably never do anything about it.'

Merle laughed harder. She could definitely hear him.

She grimaced and looked at the cross. 'Oh shut up. There's no talking to you when you're like this.

* * *

><p>Daryl lay on his back on the bunk in his cell, one leg braced against the wall and the other resting across it, rolling the soft material of the black gloves between his thumb and forefinger.<p>

He absentmindedly chewed his bottom lip. They picked up things for each other—and everyone else—on runs all the time. Why was this different?

_Ya never asked her to bring this back. _

She did this on her own. Think it counts as a gift. That's gotta mean something right?

He tried to think when he'd last received a gift. A bottle of southo on his birthday a couple of years back from Merle maybe?

_She missed you._

He dropped the gloves on his chest and scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. God damn it, but he missed her too. He'd known this was going to happen the night he'd fallen asleep with her in his arms, scent of her hair in his nose, and her twitching gently as she dreamed.

When she'd crawled freezing under his blankets that night, she'd crawled under his skin too.

He'd stopped going out with her and Michonne because he couldn't stop watching her—that and they were never gonna find the Governor now the trail was cold. He had thought it would get her out of his head, but it was almost worse being away from her—definitely worse at times like the last few days when she was late back from a run. Whenever she wasn't right in front of him, he could still feel her there, wormed into the back of his mind. Image of her smile flashing into his mind—usually right when he didn't need the distraction.

_Christ_. If Merle could see him now he would kick his ass for obsessing about a girl...or he'd kick his ass for obsessing about this particular girl.

Either way he was getting his ass kicked.

He laced his fingers under his head, looking up at the unrelieved grey of the walls.

_Screw Merle._

He'd brought her something back too. Did that mean something? He hadn't thought anything about it at the time. Just seen it, and thought it might be useful—but only because he'd been thinking about her at the time.

Again.

What if she thought it was stupid?

He grimaced. He had better things to do than to be worrying about whether Asha was going to like her—his mouth twisted—gift, he supposed it was a gift. It was useful, that was more important these days anyway.

Guess he'd find out what she thought tomorrow.

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><p>She was nearly back to the cell block when she noticed Hershel seated at one of the picnic tables in the courtyard, white hair gleaming in the moonlight.<p>

'Asha,' he called, and she altered course to meet him at the picnic table. 'Sit down.'

She sat, eyes narrowing a little. Something in his demeanour suggested this wasn't an entirely casual conversation.

'What's up Hershel?'

'Just wanted to touch base about how you and Michonne have been doing out on the road?'

Asha shrugged. 'Fine. Haven't come across anything we couldn't handle.'

'Seen any sign of the Governor?'

'Not lately.'

'Your brother?'

Her throat constricted. 'No.'

Hershel nodded to himself.

'Doesn't mean we won't find them,' Asha said. She wasn't really in the mood for a lecture on her chances of finding her brother.

'No it doesn't, and we all want you to Asha really we do, but the fact is, you and Michonne would be better use here—to the group and yourself.'

Asha tried to laugh him off. 'What are you talking about? We bring back enough useful stuff to make it worthwhile even if we never find the Governor.' _Or Nash. S_he couldn't say it out loud. 'What about that untouched drug store we found last month? That was a gold mine.'

'If you were here organising runs you'd be able to clear these places out properly, instead of just bringing back a backpack full.'

'Think of us as scouts, Hershel. Locate the spots and the Council can send out a run.'

'How long ya gonna keep doin' this?'

Her temper suddenly frayed.

'As long as it takes,' she hissed. She grit her teeth, forcing her voice to some semblance of calmness. 'I can't give up on him. Until I know, I can't. I won't do it. He's never given up on me.'

She took a deep shuddering breath. He hadn't. Even when she thought he had, he came back.

'I just don't want you to spend your whole life in this limbo,' Hershel said softly. 'Searching, but never really moving forward. You could make a real life with this group, but you won't give yourself that chance.'

'I can't,' she bit out. 'I need him.'

'You can,' Hershel said. 'He'd understand.'

'You don't know him, you can't say that,' she snapped. But the fact was, she knew that Nash would understand. He wouldn't want her to spend her life aimlessly wandering looking for him—and without a sign from him, she knew that was really what she was doing. For a moment, she tried to think what it would be like to let him go. Her chest constricted and she couldn't breathe. 'I need him,' she gasped.

'Why?'

'I don't trust myself without him.'

'You've been doing alright without him the last few months.'

Asha shook her head and swallowed hard. 'Because all I've done is look for him.'

She looked down at her hands, but she felt Hershel's eyes on her for a long minute.

'You might not ever find him Asha. One of these days you're gonna have to come to terms with that and let him go.'

Hershel reached out to squeeze her hand, but she snatched it away, keeping her eyes away from him. She heard him sigh before he walked away into the cell block, leaving her alone in the dark courtyard.

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><p><strong>[An: Just a short one this time - but there is some quality Daryl and Asha alone time coming up next chapter, which will be up by the weekend.]**


	23. Chapter 23

**[A/N: Thanks new reviewers, favourites and followers. **enchantmentanjel, **I am following the basic outline of the plot in season 4; but there are definitely some points where the story is off canon. The illness thing does happen, but it's not a major focus so it will be dealt with fairly quickly.]**

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><p>It was early, the steely morning light barely breaking over the horizon before the rising sun. But it was already warm, the still air heavy with the promise of baking Georgia heat. No one else from the community seemed to be stirring, but Asha had caught a glimpse of Bob on watch in the guard tower when she'd entered the courtyard.<p>

Asha was virtually bouncing on her toes as she waited by Daryl's bike. She had woken up buzzing with anticipation—a feeling so unfamiliar that it had taken her a moment to recognise it, before she had gotten out of bed grinning. She had lain in bed the night before, mulling over Daryl's surprise before finally dropping off to sleep, and had reluctantly concluded that it had nothing to do with Nash. Daryl wouldn't be so cruel as to keep her in suspense about that.

Still, that left a whole raft of potential experience wrapped up in the word 'surprise.'

Daryl pushed open the door from cell block C and closed it quietly behind him. He had a pack on his back and a garbage bag wrapped bundle in hand which he quickly stuffed into one of the saddlebags on the bike. His crossbow was already resting against the bike.

'What took you so long?' she demanded. 'Ten minutes ago you said you'd be right back.'

It felt like it had been ten minutes anyway.

Daryl shrugged. 'Ya wanna bitch about it or get goin?'

'Going, oh mysterious one,' she teased. 'I wanna know what this is all about.'

Daryl grunted. 'I'm regretting this already.'

'Liar.'

There was the shadow of a smile ghosting about his lips.

'Here,' he said, smirking as he held out his crossbow. 'Wouldn't want it ta smack ya in the face the whole way.'

He swung his leg over bike and stomped on the kickstarter a couple of times until the bike roared to life. 'Well, get the gate.'

Asha stuck her tongue out at him, swinging his bow across her back next to her spear and jogging across to open the gate. She waved to Bob as she pulled it shut behind them and swung behind Daryl, resenting for an instant that his pack kept her from resting up against his back.

_God woman. Get yourself under control._

They rode for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Asha drifted, lulled by the constant thrum of the bike's engine and the hypnotic flashes of light and dark cast by the sunlight through the trees. She was starting to get stiff though, so it was with some relief that she got off the bike when Daryl pulled off the side of the back country lane they were driving and dragged the bike into the bushes so it was concealed from the road.

'We walk from here,' he said as she stretched.

Asha followed him into the dappled sunlight beneath the trees, breathing in the warm earthy scent of the woods. Suddenly Daryl jerked a hand up sharply to stop her.

Ahead she could hear the rustling of something large, too clumsy to be an animal. Walker then. Her heart beat quickened as her suspicion was confirmed—when what used to be a middle aged man stumbled towards them, hands grasping and milky eyes alight with animal hunger. It met a quick end as Daryl held it at arms length by the throat and ground the point of his hunting knife home between its eyes.

'Better give me that,' he said wiping the knife on his pants. Asha had automatically swung his crossbow off her back when the walker had appeared, but it wasn't much use other than as a club in her hands. She passed it over.

They walked in silence through the woods. Asha noticing how Daryl was both hyper alert and completely relaxed beneath the trees. His booted footsteps silent under the buzz of insects in the undergrowth and his head moved constantly as his eyes scanned the area in front of them. There was a different set to his shoulders, as thought some of the tension he always carried had loosened and when she saw his profile as he scanned the wood, the hard lines at the corners of his mouth had faded. Asha found herself smiling slightly as she followed him, trying to keep the noise from her own steps down to a minimum.

She heard it before she saw it. The gentle gurgle and fresh tang of moving water filling the air before she glimpsed it between the trees, surface sparkling in the sunlight. The trees thinned and turned into a long grassy bank, where the river curved sharply around to the left leaving a deep pool of quiet water along the shore. The ripples on the surface would have been enough to tell Asha there were fish there, even without the dark shadows she could see moving through the clear water.

Asha tipped her head back as she walked out from under the trees, feeling the heat of the sun on her skin and the smile spreading on her lips. Daryl paused, shrugged off the pack and leant back against one of the trees in the shade. He gestured towards the water with his head. Asha grinned, kicked off her boots and socks, rolled up her jeans and waded into the water. The rocky bottom was slippery under foot and the water was delightfully cool.

'This is my surprise?' she said, looking out over the river, letting the sound and sight of the water refill something in her that she hadn't realised she'd been missing. 'It's beautiful.'

Daryl grunted.

'This isn't the Yellow Jacket is it?' she asked a little sadly.

'No.'

_Not likely to see any sign of Nash then._

She turned around to look at him. 'We goin' swiming?'

'You are.'

'I am?'

He nodded and gestured towards the deeper water. 'Fish right? 'Bout time someone other than me brought some damn meat home.'

Asha moved back onto the grassy bank and walked around the edge of the pool, wet feet padding quietly on the grass. There were a few trees growing close along the edge, she should be able to get out over the water with her spear in a few spots—not ideal, but workable. She nodded to herself and turned back around to fetch her spear.

She sat down to change out her walker spear for one still suitable for fish.

She hadn't realised Daryl had moved until his shadow fell over her. He blotted out the sun for a second until he crouched down next to her, the bundled up garbage bag held in one hand. He thrust it towards her, chewing on his bottom lip.

Asha took the package from him, watching his guarded eyes behind the dark hair falling across his face. She unwrapped the package carefully and then held the items in her hands, a slow smile spreading across her face. He'd found, god knows how, a pair of swimming goggles and short fins, the type people used for lap training. She looked up at him smiling.

He was still chewing his bottom lip and his eyes were shadowed behind his hair. He shrugged a little awkwardly.

'Ya always saying ya do better when ya can get in the water with the fish. Ain't proper dive gear, but thought it might help.'

Asha grinned at him. 'Yeah, this'll work.'

She looked back at deep pool of water, which suddenly seemed to hold a whole lot more opportunities. Then she frowned as she remembered she hadn't kept any rubbers on her spear in months—no need when she never shot the damn thing. She had a couple back at the prison, but that wasn't much help to her at the moment. She might be able to get in the water, but she wouldn't be able to fire the gun. She mentally shrugged, she'd just have to use it like a hand spear—less ideal, but wouldn't be the first time she'd gone hunting with a hand spear.

Daryl had seen the frown on her face. 'What?' he asked.

'Nothing—I just left some of my gear back at the prison.'

Daryl grunted, and reached behind him for his pack. Asha's mouth dropped, then widened into a smile as he then pulled out both spare rubbers, all her spare floppers, and the last of her line—most of that having been co-opted off to other purposes over the last few months. She was pleased to note that there was still enough length to secure the spear to the gun with a good three to four metres of operational range.

A self satisfied smile was tugging at the corners of Daryl's lips. 'Wasn't sure what you'd need, so brought it all.'

'You're brilliant Daryl,' she reached out and squeezed his hand before picking up the rubbers to check their elasticity.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she strung up her gun. That self satisfied smile was out in the open now, and he stretched out on his back in the shade of a nearby tree, watching her work.

She didn't have a float or fish stringer, or even a mesh bag for any fish she caught, but she could work around that. After, a few moments of work she ran her fingers over her gun, checking everything was where she wanted. And then she suddenly stopped.

'Ah, Daryl...'

'Mhmmm'

'You didn't happen to grab my swimmers or a change of clothes whilst you were rummaging around my cell did you?'

Daryl suddenly became very interested in the leaves on the trees spreading above him. Asha could see the red stain creeping up his neck. He shook his head.

'A towel?'

He pressed his lips together as the blush crept onto his face. He shook his head again.

Asha couldn't help it, she burst into laughter—as much at Daryl's obvious discomfort as anything else.

'Damn woman,' he grumbled. 'I was thinking about the bloody fish not you.'

Asha chortled, shaking her head. 'Good thing I've got black underwear on today,' she said. Daryl's face was bright red.

She stripped down to her underwear and dropped her gear on the edge of the bank. Then she walked into the water that dropped down to chest level quickly. She closed her eyes and slipped under the surface of the water, enjoying the feel of the current shifting across her skin and carrying away the sweat and grime. The sensation was so pleasant that she was tempted for a moment just to drift away with the current, but then she stood up, wiped the water off her face and scrubbed her hands along her limbs to get rid of the dirt. She ducked back under the water. It felt so good to be clean.

She looked up to the bank where Daryl was stretched out on his back under the trees, one arm folded behind his head, crossbow held loosely in his other hand.

'Ya commin' in?' she called.

'Nup, someone's gotta keep watch.'

'Is that what ya doing? Reckon you could manage a quick dip.'

'Nah.' He kept his eyes on the trees above him.

'Come on Daryl. Feels really good to get clean.' She scooped up some water in her hands and tipped it over her face.

He didn't answer her.

'Ok, let me rephrase that. Daryl Dixon, you fucking stink. Get in here and clean up.'

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her, dark hair falling in his eyes. Asha's skin tingled and she suddenly remembered she was wearing only her underwear.

There was a flash of something across his face, and then his jaw tightened.

'No.' He laid back on his back and he waved his hand towards the water. 'Go catch dinner.'

Asha was glad he wasn't looking to see the pink in her face. She should have known he was far too awkward to come anywhere near her whilst she was just in her underwear—even if that was his fault.

She quickly scooped up her gear from the bank, pulled on the fins and goggles and slipped back into the water with her gun. She pulled in a deep breath and dropped under the surface and kicked slowly into the deep pool of water.

The rocky riverbed leapt up to meet her, magnified slightly through the water. It wasn't a huge pool, but the visibility was good, and she could see plenty of fish skirting the rocks along the bank and flitting through the water further ahead of her. She could see a couple of decent sized fish hanging under rock overhangs. She grinned this was—almost literally—going to be like shooting fish in barrel.

She broke the surface and filled and emptied her lungs a few times before drawing in a deep breath and dropping under the surface. She flicked her fins gently and skirted along a couple of metres out and parallel to the rock overhang sheltering the fish she had her eye on, bringing her spear gun around underneath her. Once the fish was in line, she squeezed the trigger gently and the spear leapt forward, collecting it right behind the gills. Asha felt a familiar surge of triumph and grinned before reeling in her spear, fish attached.

She whooped in delight as she broke the surface. Daryl was standing at the edge of the water.

'Starting to think you'd drowned,' he said sourly.

Asha grinned. 'No chance. Here,' she gave a couple of strong kicks towards the bank until she could stand up and then pulled the gun and line out of the water so Daryl could see her fish. 'Know what type of fish this is?'

Daryl squinted at it. 'Bass, maybe.'

'You don't know?'

'You don't?'

'If it doesn't live in the ocean I don't know what it is. What's your excuse? You're the native Georgian, and...' she waved her hand vaguely, '...wilderness expert.'

'Was never that keen on fish.' He shrugged. 'Couldn't shoot 'em.'

Asha grinned and held up her gun. 'Ya wanna go?'

'Nah, gonna take more than one fish to feed all of us. Ya better get back to it.' He gestured to the fish on the line. 'Ya want me to take that?'

'Nah, I'll keep it on the line for now.' She tied a quick slipknot to keep it from sliding down the line. 'Stay fresher in the water than on the bank. Reckon we'll need about twenty of this size right?'

He arched both his eyebrows at her. 'If ya can get that many.'

She grinned again. 'That, my friend, will not be a problem.'

Then she slipped back into the water and lost herself in the familiar rhythms of breath holds and stalking fish.

Sometime later—after a pause for a canned lunch Daryl had brought from the prison—Asha tossed her last haul of fish on to the pile on the grassy bank. Twenty two good sized bass—if Daryl was right about them being bass of course. She ran her hands over her hair and down her ponytail to squeeze out as much water as possible. Then she stood there, smiling proudly, water wrinkled hands on hips. Daryl came over and stood next to her.

'Aren't they beautiful?' she asked.

Daryl grunted.

'Help me clean them?'

'No-one ever helps me.'

'You start bringing home twenty squirrels at a time and I'll help you clean 'em.'

Daryl grunted again and she noticed that he was very carefully looking anywhere other than at her. Her smile grew into a grin. She reached over and shoved him in the arm. His eyes flicked to her automatically.

'It's just underwear,' she said, both brows raised. 'Come on, give me a hand. It'll take me forever if I have to do it by myself.'

'Fine.'

She went back to her clothes and collected her knife, then she knelt down next to Daryl and they started working through the pile. Asha started humming—fairly tunelessly—as she worked, until she noticed Daryl was watching her out of the corner of his eye.

'What?'

'Ya look...different.'

She arched an eyebrow at him. 'Well it's not often that I clean fish in my underwear.'

'Nah. That's not what I meant.'

She turned her head to look at him properly. 'Different?'

'Dunno...relaxed maybe?'

'Well, Nash did always say that I got cranky when my gills dried out,' she laughed. 'Not that he was one to talk, he'd near have a panic attack if he couldn't smell the salt water.'

She paused, but not even the surge of loss and the familiar ache in her stomach couldn't completely wipe the smile off her face. It was then that she realised what she was feeling. She was happy. Her hands stilled in the fish she was gutting.

_Happy._

Daryl looked at her and then quickly looked around, searching for whatever had thrown her. 'What is it?' His eyes narrowed.

'Nothing,' she shook her head, feeling a stunned little smile spread on her face as she went back to work. 'Nothing.'

He looked at her a moment longer before turning back to the fish himself.

It had been so long since she'd felt happy that she took a minute to revel in the feeling, before wondering how it had snuck up on her. Then she looked at the scruffy man next to her, eyes intent and deft hands working through her catch, and she stopped analyzing it. Didn't matter how it had happened, it was enough that it had.

She went back to humming, watching the corner of Daryl's mouth quirk.

'Am I supposed to recognise that tune?' he asked.

'Nope. Couldn't hold a tune if my life depended on it.'

'Maybe ya should stop then?'

'Bite me.'

She kept humming. Suddenly a branch snapped beyond the bushes away from the bank. Asha and Daryl both froze, narrowed eyes on the bushes as a guttural snarl confirmed there was a walker coming in their direction. They both stood, knives in hand, waiting, until a walker reeled brokenly through the bushes and crashed in their direction. There was only one. Asha felt her lip lifting in a snarl as she moved to meet it—but Daryl was quicker, stopping her with a hand on her collar bone and stepping in front of her. He kicked the walker in the side of the leg and then planted his knife in its temple. The peaceful sound of insect life seemed to swell in the quiet as its guttural snarls were suddenly cut off.

Asha looked at Daryl a little confused as he flicked the blood off his knife. 'Not that I'm objecting as such, but what was that? You think I can't handle a lone walker?'

Daryl shrugged, his eyes flickering over her before latching back on her face. 'Too much skin. Coulda been scratched.'

Asha felt a pull in her stomach that he'd thought of keeping her safe. _Don't be stupid, he thinks of keeping everyone safe. _She also felt her face heating. Wasn't the smartest idea to be hanging around her underwear. 'Oh, right. Thanks.'

'Ya oughta get changed. I'll finish this.' He nodded at the couple of fish they had left to clean. 'Reckon the smell'll draw more walkers the longer we hang around.'

Asha nodded, holding her knife out. 'Use this, I'll clean yours.'

They swapped blades, and Asha went down to the river, watching the scales, bits of fish guts and walker blood flutter away in the water.

She pulled on her clothes as Daryl finished with the last of the fish—fortunately her underwear had mostly dried whilst they were cleaning the fish. Then there was another rustle in the undergrowth, this time further along the edge of the bank. Daryl's crossbow was in his hands in an instant, aimed low to the ground at the sound, and Asha tightened her grip on his hunting blade.

The leaves on the bush shook for a moment, and then whiskers and a flat nose appeared, followed quickly by the rest of a scrawny orange tabby cat. The creature paused on seeing them, nose twitching in the air.

Daryl muttered something and went back to collecting his gear. Asha grinned and started towards the little creature, scooping up a bit of fish guts on the way. She crouched down a few paces away and held out the fish guts. The scruffy animal's golden eyes lit up and it came towards her tentatively, its whole body vibrating with a broken sounding purr. It licked her fingers clean and rubbed up against her, purring away. She scooped it up under the belly, feeling its protruding rib cage, and scratched it behind the ears when it didn't protest.

'You hungry there little puds?' she asked softly. She deposited the scrawny thing near the pile of fish guts, watching fondly as it started eating. She realised Daryl was watching her.

'What?'

'Puds?'

She shrugged, feeling her face go pink. 'Yeah. Pussy cat. Puddy tat. Puds.'

She could see him biting on a smile.

'Shut up. I like cats.'

They collected the fish, wrapping them in the garbage bag in which Daryl had brought the goggles and fins—they'd fit in one of the saddlebags on the bike. Then they collected their gear, ready to head back to the bike. Asha glanced around the clearing. The shadows were just starting to lengthen beneath the trees and the river looked to be made of beaten gold in the gleaming afternoon sun.

She grabbed Daryl's arm and pulled him to face her. His brows furrowed.

'Thank you,' she said. 'This is the best day I've had in a long time.'

'Was nothin'.' He tried to shrug her off.

She kept hold of him. 'It's not nothing. I got to do something today that I'm good at—something from before the turn that I used to love and that I hadn't let myself miss.' Her eyes searched his, desperately needing him to understand how much it meant to her. 'You made me happy today Daryl. That's not nothing. That's everything.'

His eyes widened a little at her words and she held his gaze a moment longer, drinking in the surprise in his blue eyes, before smiling at him and dropping his arm.

She walked over to the little cat, stretched out snoozing near the pile of fish guts, sated for the moment. She gave him a final scratch. 'Don't get eaten little puds', she said sadly and then started back into the trees towards the bike.

She had only taken a few steps before she realised Daryl wasn't following and turned back.

He was staring at the ground where she'd left him. For a moment she just drank in the view of him, surrounded by the golden afternoon haze, bare armed in his angel winged vest and crossbow held loosely in his hand. Mostly though, she drank in the sight of the small smile tugging at his lips, and felt one tugging her own in response.

'Hey,' she called, and for a moment when he looked at her there was more light in his eyes than Asha had ever seen there before, and a warmth tugged in Asha's chest. He raked his hand through his hair before walking over to the little cat and scooping him up.

Asha arched her brows in question at him.

'What? We could do with a ratter at the prison.'

Asha smiled, blinking quickly a couple of times to quell the sudden stinging in the back of her eyes.

'Thanks,' she said.

Daryl nodded.

The Dixon walls were back up as he met her gaze, but Asha had seen the earlier glow in his eyes, and she wanted to see it again.

* * *

><p>Asha settled herself on the back of the motorbike. Asha smiled as she saw Daryl scratch the scruffy cat gently behind the ears when he thought she wasn't looking. Then he handed the little creature over, and she tucked it into the top of his pack, leaving it slightly open so it could poke its head out if it wanted. She watched the pack move around a little bit before, purring loudly and brokenly, the cat settled down.<p>

Asha grasped Daryl lightly around the hips and waited for him to start the bike.

He didn't.

After a long moment he turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye over his shoulder. 'We could have more days like this,' he said. 'God knows I could use the help feedin' everyone.'

Asha's heart leapt—both at the thought of having more days like this with Daryl and at making a useful contribution to the people at the prison.

'Well, we wouldn't want to fish out that pool so we'd need to find more than that one spot,' she said, 'but I am happy to go fishing with you any time I'm back.'

He was silent for a moment. 'Ya could stop going out so often,' he said quietly.

Asha's hands tightened automatically on his hips. He must have felt it.

He turned his head back towards the front of the bike, but he kept going. 'Ya have to keep going further and further out. Ya always gone at least a week. Ya ain't seen any sign of Nash, or the Governor, for months. Ya more help here, keeping these people fed...safe. You and Michonne both.'

Asha felt the good feeling from the day drain away as quickly as the water from the river had flowed off her body. Her throat constricted and her mouth was suddenly dry. The worst part was, she knew he wasn't wrong. As she opened her mouth, still searching for the words, Daryl continued, 'Wouldn't have ta worry 'bout ya so much if ya weren't goin' out so far.'

She swallowed hard, fighting the surge of guilt. Worry was part of the deal these days unfortunately. 'I worry about you too when i'm gone,' she said in a small voice. She trembled. It was the closest she'd come to telling him how she felt about him. 'Might be easier for both of us if you were still coming out with us.'

He stiffened under her hands. 'Ya know I can't.'

She sighed. 'I know.' Didn't stop her missing him thought. 'Just please...' her voice shook and she bit down on her bottom lip. 'Please understand that I can't give up on him.'

No matter what spin was put on it Asha felt in her gut that not looking for Nash was giving him up—and she wasn't ready to face that.

Daryl turned his head so he could catch her out of the corner of his eye again. 'I don't want ya to give up on him, I just want ya to spend some more time around here.'

He was waiting for something.

'I'll think about it,' she forced out.

He nodded, turned, and started the bike.

Asha forced her fingers to relax, but her stomach was tied in knots.

Why had he had to bring that up?

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: Thanks for reading - let me know what you think!]**


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